Running From Devils
by CloverKitten06
Summary: AU: No Curse. Pre Emma Swan. Belle Hayes is a small town Georgia girl that ends up in Storybrooke after she runs away from her abusive husband with her son Adam in tow. She is hoping to build a better life for them but, as always, it is hard to run from your past. Eventual Rumbelle. Please R R! This is my first FanFic.
1. Chapter 1: The Arrival

Running from Devils

Chapter 1: The Arrival

Ruby looked up from the counter of Granny's Diner when the battered red Ford Ranger parallel parked on the other side of road. That was odd. She knew all of the cars in town and she had never seen that truck before. Ruby continued to watch as the door opened and a petite woman with curly brown hair dressed in a blue shirt, a light scarf covering her neck and jeans stepped out and opened the back door. The stranger leaned in and after a moment she helped a little boy out of the truck. They were smiling at each other while woman closed the doors before taking the boy's hand and went towards the diner.

Sheriff Graham followed Ruby's gaze and raised an eyebrow. "Wonder who that is.." He mused, his accented tone bringing Ruby's attention to him.

"Not sure, Sheriff. She's pretty though. Cute kid." Ruby said lightly.

Graham nodded and they both watched as the new person walked into the diner. She gave them all a polite, if not cautious smile and pulled her son a little closer to her. "Evening." She said in a soft southern drawl before taking her son and sitting in a booth.

Ruby beamed and went over to them. "Good evening. My name's Ruby. What can I get you?" Her eyes were blazing with curiosity as she watched the young woman with her arms around the kid. He had to be her son. The boy looked just like her. Same blue eyes and same curly brown hair.

"I'd like a water, please. What about you, Adam?"

The boy looked up at his mama and smiled some. "Milk."

Ruby giggled. Oh this kid was precious. "Alright, cutie, coming right up."

Adam blushed at the endearment that came from the strange woman's mouth and he put his head in his mom's side to hide.

Belle laughed softly at her son. "Oh now you want to be shy?" She looked up at Ruby. "Thank you."

"Oh he's adorable." Ruby gushed. "We don't get too many strangers in town to be honest. What are your names?"

"Belle. Belle Hayes. And this is Adam." Belle looked down at her son and nudged him some. "Don't be ugly. Say hello to the nice lady."

Ruby could not get over this woman's accent. She had only heard someone sound like that on TV. Granted the Sheriff had an accent too, but she was used to that. This was something new and Ruby was loving every second of it. "Oh he's fine. I understand the shyness."

Graham snorted at that. "Ruby, you've never been shy a day in your life." The comment got Graham a glare and Belle just put a hand over her mouth to politely stifle a laugh. Sheriff Graham got up and went over to join the ladies and the kid.

"Belle is it? Welcome to Storybrooke." He reached out to shake her hand and Belle shook it with surprising firmness. There was a spark in this girl and Graham respected it. "Are you on your way somewhere? Most people just pass through if they come at all."

Belle shrugged some. "I was actually hoping to stick around for awhile. Just trying to find a good place to stay for the night right now."

Ruby perked up even more at that. "Oh there's a bed and breakfast next door." she offered. "Me and my Granny run that place and this one. We've always got free rooms."

"Oh yeah? Well that's mighty nice of you, I just might accept. It's been awhile since either of us have slept in an actual bed." Belle admitted while very gently rubbing her son's arm. A darkness flashed over her features, but it was gone so quick that the pair wasn't even sure that they saw it.

Graham smiled some. "Where are you traveling from?" He asked, still just trying to be friendly. They already gained quite a bit of attention from the locals. New people really were a novelty around there.

Belle shrugged some. "Georgia." She said. Her tone was friendly enough, but there was a subtle hint of something else there. It was a subject she didn't want to talk about.

Ruby didn't catch it. "Where in Georgia? That's not a very big state."

Belle shrugged again and kept her son almost protectively close to her. "Some small town. Nowhere really important. It's only a little bigger than this place."

"Yeah? Why'd you leave?" Ruby lacked tact as well.

The stranger couldn't help but look slightly annoyed at her blatant prying. "Just wanted a change of pace." Belle's voice hardened a little and the sheriff cleared his throat before misunderstandings happened.

"Forgive her. Ruby is nosy sometimes." Graham said. "I'll leave you to rest and eat. Here's my card though if you run into any problems while you're hear. Have a good day." With that, the man left and Belle was left with the waitress.

Ruby blushed once she realized she over stepped. "I'm sorry." She said once the Sheriff was gone. "I really wasn't trying to be rude. It's really not often that we get new comers here. I'll go ahead and get your drinks."

Belle let out a breath when she was alone with her son and allowed herself to relax for the first time since they crossed over the Georgia/South Carolina state line. Her eyes closed and her hand idly rubbed the upper part of her son's arm. They would be safe up here. They had to be. Her eyes opened when Ruby came back with their drinks and she took their orders with practiced ease before she disappeared again. Belle felt bad for snapping at the curious young woman, but her past was something she'd rather not reveal.

"Alright, there you go." Ruby said brightly. "Sorry about that wait."

"Oh it's alright." Belle said and looked up at her. "Look, I'm sorry too. It's just been a long week, but I shouldn't take that out on you."

Ruby smiled and nodded. "I understand. I really hope you do decide to stick around. A new face around here would be good for everyone." With that she left the mother and her son alone to eat.

The bell chimed as the diner door opened again. Ruby's eyes snapped up as if on command and she forced a smile to her face. "Mayor Mills. How are you today? Hello, Henry."

The stranger turned to take in the woman with short black hair and a cold stare. A shiver ran over her body. Years of reading people taught her how to spot power and someone to stay clear from. She was getting that vibe from the mayor. The boy that looked to be her son was Adam's age though and Belle figured it would be good for Adam to have a friend in the new place.

"I'm doing well, Ruby." Regina said easily as her gaze swept over the diner. Belle was reminded of a Queen taking in her subjects. As soon as Regina laid eyes on Belle it was like she went into full blown politician mode. She let Ruby entertain Henry while she went over to Belle and gave a viper smile. "Hello there. My name is Regina Mills. I'm the mayor of Storybrooke. What's your name?" She asked pleasantly.

"Belle Hayes. It's a pleasure, ma'am. I'd shake your hand but…" Belle held out her greasy hands since she was still eating her burger.

"Oh that's quite alright. How do you like the town so far?"

Belle smiled and looked around. "Well from what I've seen of it so far, it's very nice. I only just got here…" She checked her watch. "half an hour ago."

Regina looked taken aback for a moment before she recovered. "Well then forgive me for bothering you so soon. You must be exhausted." The accent gave away the fact that the stranger had come a long way. "Are you going to be with us for long?"

"Hopefully. The people I've met so far are very nice. Maybe if I can find some work and a place to live that will make my decision easier." Belle finished her meal and wiped off her hands before leaning back and watching the Mayor.

"Funny you should mention that. I was just discussing something the other day with one of my associates, perhaps you would be interested it in. May I sit?" Regina asked, giving a smile to both Belle and her little son. "Oh I am so rude. Hello, young man."

Adam just blushed and gave a shy smile before scooting closer to his mother. He saw the other little boy in the diner, but he still felt the need to stay close to his mom. She would keep him safe from anything, including the people in this new place. "Hi." he said softly. His face went back into his mother's side and Belle just laughed softly.

"Of course, Madam Mayor." Belle said, motioning for her to take a seat. "This is Adam. He's not generally this shy. Must be all of the excitement."

"My son is the same age." Regina turned to Henry and called him over. "This is my Henry. Say hello, sweetheart."

"Hello." Henry said lightly. Adam peeked at the boy and smiled a little before relaxing and looking at the other boy. "Do you like dinosaurs?" Henry asked as he pulled a little plastic T-Rex from his pocket to show Adam.

Adam nodded and leaned over to look at it.

Belle smiled softly at the two boys and moved her fingers through Adam's hair. "Baby, why don't you and Henry see if Ruby has coloring books so Mommy can talk to the Mayor." She looked up at Regina to make sure she wasn't overstepping while Henry looked over at his mom too.

"Can we, Mom?" Henry pleaded. Henry was pretty shy so he didn't get along with the kids at school too much. He felt like he would get along this kid nicely though.

Regina gave her son an indulgent smile and kissed the top of his head. "Sure, dear." She nudged her son out of the booth and the two boys went up to the counter so Ruby could keep an eye on them.

"Now what would this deal be?" Belle asked politely. Her eyes were bright with interest, almost desperate. She had to provide for her son somehow. Maybe this town could be the fresh start she craved.

Regina smiled and leaned back, watching Belle in a haughty businesslike manner. "Our town's library has been in disarray for a couple of years now. At first it never really concerned the citizens because we are all very busy people, but lately parents have been coming to me wanting to open up the library so the children could have a place to read and learn outside of school. The only problem is that we don't have anyone that will take the role of librarian."

Belle nodded some and watched the Mayor. "Now why is that?" She figured there had to be a pretty good reason.

The Mayor chuckled a little darkly. "The library is for public use of course, but it is owned by one Mr. Gold. He's quite the fixture and owns the majority of the buildings in this town. No one really desires to work for him seeing as how they already have to pay him rent."

That made sense to Belle, but she needed the work. "I see. So the librarian would be employed by this Mr. Gold person?"

"Technically the librarian works for the town. The salary comes out of the town budget and that would include money for the rent of the library building. Now any other rent money will have to come from you." Regina said simply.

"Other rent?" Belle asked with a tilt of her head.

Regina nodded. "There is an apartment above the library. It would be a win-win for everyone really. You get work and a place to live while the town gets a library. How does that sound to you Ms. Hayes?"

Belle took a breath and let it slowly out before her eyes flickered to her son. She had to do whatever she had to in order to give him a good life. A look of determination and fierce protectiveness played over her features. She already let her son down once in his life. There was no way she was going to let him down again. When she looked back at Regina, Belle saw nothing but understanding in the woman's face. In that moment, they were just two mothers that had an understanding. "Alright." Belle said. "I'll do it. I'll take the job." She laughed a little and shrugged. "I wanted to be a librarian when I was a little girl anyway."

Regina laughed some too and watched the woman. "Well it's a dream come true then. We can work out the details tomorrow. Just come by my office and the place will be yours."

"Thank you, Mayor Mills." Belle said, shaking her hand this time. "I greatly appreciate this."

"As do we, Ms. Hayes. As do we. And please, call me Regina."

Belle nodded. "Thank you, Regina. And it's Belle." She smiled and both women got up before collecting their sons and walking out of the diner. Adam said goodbye to Henry and walked to the truck with his mother so they could get their bags and head to the bed and breakfast for the night.

It only took ten minutes to get signed up and settled into their room for the night. Adam was passed out on the bed almost before his pajamas were on. Belle smiled softly at her son before she tucked him into the bed. His face was peaceful and that was almost enough to make her want to sleep as well. Almost. She moved some strands of hair out of his face before she sighed softly and went to look in her bag. Quietly Belle took off her shirt so she could change into her own night clothes. As always though, her hand went to the jagged scar on her rib cage. Her jaw clenched and she quickly put on her night shirt before she dug to the bottom of her bag and took out an odd shaped object wrapped up in a rag.

Belle took a breath before she slowly pulled the rag off of the .380 revolver. It was a small handgun that fit snugly in the palm of her hand. Her eyes were clouded and troubled before she looked back to her son. He was safe here. He was sleeping peacefully and he trusted his mother with all the trust a child can give. Belle felt tears prick her eyes, but she blinked them back and put the gun into the bag once again. There was no way she was going to allow her son to be harmed again.


	2. Chapter 2: A Deal is Struck

**Author's Note: I just wanted to say thank you so much to the people that took the time to read and review the first chapter of this story. It meant so much to me that y'all liked it. In fact it inspired me to churn out Chapter 2 in about an hour and a half. Again, thank you all so much and I hope you enjoy it!**

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Chapter 2: A Deal is Struck

Belle did get some sleep thankfully, but it was plagued by nightmares of hellish beatings and trips to the hospital. No one believed her when she said her husband was a monster. No one. The hazards of living in a small town and being married to a well liked man. She woke up feeling worn down and encouraged all at the same time. It was odd, but Belle chose to cling to the encouragement and got herself and Adam up so they could go to Regina's office. Breakfast consisted of eggs and bacon from Granny's diner and chatting with Ruby. Adam really took a shine to the woman with hair as red as her name so Belle was more than happy to become friends with her.

After they got directions to the mayor's office, Belle and Adam made their way down the sidewalk holding hands. Naturally Belle had to shorten her strides so the five year old could keep up, but it was something that Belle never minded doing. The day was calm and the town looked prettier in the day time. It was a cleaner version of home. Colder too, but Belle would learn to get over that. Cold was better than going back home. Anything was better than that place.

"Mommy, that man is limping." Adam said, pointing to an older man that appeared to be coming towards them. "Does his leg hurt?"

Belle tugged lightly at Adam's hand and gave him a scolding look. "Adam Nathaniel." She said exasperatedly, her southern drawl getting a little thicker. "You know better than to point."

Adam's face went red and his hand quickly dropped. He looked up and paled a little when he saw the man looking towards them. Quickly he moved closer to his mother and held her hand tighter. He didn't want to get in trouble. The man kind of looked mean.

Mr. Gold of course heard what the child said despite being over thirty feet away. Five year olds aren't known for being quiet nor are they known for their tact. His eyes flashed in mild irritation, but it passed after the boy's mother scolded him. Good. At least some people in America taught their kids manners still. Gold fought back a smirk. After all these years he still considered himself to be a Scottish national. Never mind the fact that he had been an American citizen for over ten years now. It was interesting though. They appeared to be heading for the same place. No matter. He had an appointment with the Mayor and they would just have to wait.

Belle and Adam reached the door to city hall the same time as Mr. Gold did and Belle reached for the door first. Gold, however, made it to the handle faster. "Allow me." He said in his deep Scottish brogue. The young woman blinked and then smiled some. "Well thank you very much, sir." She said, walking through the opened door. Adam made sure to follow his mother, but he kept his eyes down and away from the man with the cane. He was trying to stay as far away from him as possible.

Mr. Gold just smiled politely and followed them in. "You must be new in town. I pride myself on knowing everyone and yet I don't know you."

Belle turned to the man and kept her son at her side. "You're right. My son and I only got into town last night. My name is Belle Hayes. It's a pleasure, Mr…?" Her voice trailed off, since she didn't know his name.

"Gold." The Scotsman responded briskly. "Mr. Gold. It's a pleasure."

Recognition flashed in Belle's eyes and she smiled a little more. "Oh! You're the man that owns the library. Mayor Mills was telling me about you last night."

Mr. Gold smirked, and something between amusement and irritation passed through his eyes. The Mayor and he had a love/hate relationship. They worked together well enough, but when it came right down to it Regina hated that Gold was the one man in town that was not afraid of her. "Is that right? And what did our illustrious Mayor have to say about a humble lawyer?"

Belle laughed softly and shrugged. "Just that you owned the majority of the buildings in town and that I would have to pay you the rent for the apartment above the library."

"Ah. So you're my new tenant. Wonderful." Mr. Gold said with as much sincerity as he ever gave. "And I take it your young man will be staying with you?" His eyes turned to the boy and he couldn't help but feel a little badly as the kid moved closer to his mother, putting his face against her side. There was no sport for him in scaring small children, though he did like to make grown men quake.

"Yes he will. This is Adam. I'm afraid he's come down with a case of the shy since we've been here." Belle said, moving her fingers through her son's thick brown hair as she looked down at him. "Adam, don't be rude. Say hello." The woman always insisted on her son being polite and speaking to people even when he felt nervous. As long as she was with him then nothing bad was going to happen.

Adam peeked out at the man from behind his arm before his face went a little red and he put his head back in his mother's side. Eventually a muffled "Hello." was heard.

Gold just chuckled some and nodded to the woman and her child. "Well we should probably be going up there then. From the sounds of it, we are both supposed to be her two o'clock appointment." With that, Mr. Gold turned and led the way towards the stairs. God he hated stairs. His leg hated them most of all. It always took him forever to make it up them, but he was not going to give Regina the satisfaction of hearing him complain about it.

Belle and her son followed Mr. Gold and since the older man was moving about as fast as the five year old up the stairs, it was hardly a problem for Belle to slow her stride down. She actually ended up in the middle of them so Adam could hold onto the railing on one side of the stairs while Gold held onto the railing on the other. Belle could see that the stairs were causing him pain, but she knew better than to point that out and hurt the man's pride. Adam, however, did not.

"Are you okay, Mr. Gold? Does your leg hurt?" Adam asked, looking over at the man.

"Adam." Belle admonished before turning to Mr. Gold. "I'm sorry." She was about to say more but Mr. Gold just shook his head and chuckled some.

"Nothing to worry about Miss Hayes." Gold said easily enough. "I am fine though, Adam. Thank you for asking." The boy reminded him so much of his own son that it hurt. Quickly Gold banished those thoughts from his mind. His son was gone. There was nothing he could do about it. Eventually they made it to the Mayor's door and as Belle was about to knock, Gold just opened the door in one smooth motion.

Regina was sitting at her desk with Henry in her lap. He was coloring something, but they couldn't tell what it was. The mayor looked slightly irritated by the intrusion, but she put on her happy face when she saw it was Belle and Adam. Gold was hardly a blip on her radar anymore. "Ah, Belle, it's good to see you again." She said like she was greeting an old friend. "And look, Henry, it's Adam."

Henry immediately scrambled off his mother's lap and went to see his new friend. "I have a play room here. Do you want to see it?" He asked Adam excitedly.

Adam looked up at his mother to see if it was okay. He really did like Henry and he wanted to play some.

Belle just smiled and ruffled her son's hair. "Go on. Just try not to make too big of a mess okay?"

"Okay, Mama." Adam said lightly before he ran off with Henry to play with dinosaurs and trucks.

Both Regina and Belle gave indulgent mother chuckles before Regina motioned for her guests to sit down in the plush leather chairs in front of her desk. "Would you like anything to drink? Water, something stronger perhaps?"

"I'll have a water if it's no trouble." Belle said as she sat down. She was starting to get a little nervous about this whole thing. The only time she ever signed a contract was when she got married and that had ended rather disastrously for her.

Gold waved off the offer as he typically did and started to dig around in his briefcase for the papers he was looking for. There were only three contracts that needed to be signed. One for the apartment rent, one for the library maintenance, and one saying that the city would give Belle a stipend for the library's rent.

Regina set the water down for Belle and took her seat. "I hope you were able to get a good night's rest in the bed and breakfast." She said to Belle while Mr. Gold did whatever he was doing. If Regina had her way he wouldn't be here at all, but the man always insisted on being present at these meetings so he could know exactly what was going on. Paranoid fool.

Belle just smiled some and shrugged. "As good as can be expected. Being on the road for a week makes it hard to sleep at times." So does nightmares, but she was hardly going to mention those to this woman. Regina seemed nice enough, but Belle had a feeling that if she crossed the mayor that she would have a very powerful enemy.

"Oh I am sure of that." Regina said before she sipped her water. "And traveling with a five year old. He is five right?"

Belle nodded. "Just turned five last September."

"Well I just don't know how you did it. Henry barely sits still for five minutes." Regina smiled some and shook her head.

Belle giggled softly. "Well it was easy considering car ride put him right to sleep."

Mr. Gold interrupted the "mommy talk" by softly clearing his throat and putting the contracts on the table. "Here is everything you'll need in order to work and live in the library Miss Hayes. This is the rent, this is the time it is collected. This is a list of your responsibilities and of mine as well as the mayor's." He went on and Belle did her best to keep up. She was not a stupid girl by any means, but she was also no lawyer and had to ask Gold a few times to repeat or explain himself. It honestly irritated him, but at least she was trying to understand her side of the bargain unlike most of the other bumbling fools he dealt with in this town.

They were just about to sign the papers when Adam and Henry came in. Adam went straight to his mom and before she could really ask what was wrong, he pulled down the sleeve of his arm to reveal an angry pink mark the size of the boy's own hand on the upper part of his forearm. "Mommy it itches." he complained. It looked like it was starting to become one large blister.

Regina and Gold both looked a little shocked when Adam showed his injury. Both of them knew what burn marks looked like and the fact that Adam had one so bad was enough to cause Gold to clench his hand around the corner of the mayor's desk rather tightly.

Agony played over Belle's face, but it was gone in a second. Now she was the concerned mother taking care of her child. She dug into her purse and got his ointment before putting it gently on his arm. "Better?" she asked softly, looking at her son. Regina could see the pain hidden in Belle's eyes. The guilt. Now why on Earth would she feel guilty for her son getting hurt?

Adam nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Mama. Can I go back and play?" he asked.

Belle forced a smile and kissed her son's forehead before she nodded. "Sure, baby, but we are going to be leaving soon so try to clean up okay?"

Adam nodded again and once again dashed out of the room with Henry like nothing had happened at all.

Belle's jaw clenched for a moment before she sipped her water and took a breath to steady her nerves. "Where were we?" she asked quietly.

"What happened to his arm?" Regina asked before she could really stop herself. "That looked pretty bad."

"You should have seen it a week ago." Belle said rather numbly. She shrugged and looked at her left finger where her wedding ring should have been. "Let's just say that there is a reason I left Georgia and leave it at that, alright?" She did not want these people in her business. The less they knew, the better. "Now I need to sign where?" Belle looked to Mr. Gold, a silent plea in her eyes. She did not want to talk about this.

Mr. Gold just showed her again and waited for her to sign. Of course he was curious too, but there was a part of him that was raging. What kind of sick bastard would burn a child? There was no way that was an accident. It didn't look like a light enough burn for it to be accidental and he knew all about burns from his time in the British Royal Army. "Very good then. A deal is struck." Gold said after she signed.

Once all of the formalities were over with, Mr. Gold shook hands with Belle and Belle shook hands with Regina. "Thank you both so much. I promise I won't let you down." Belle said.

"I am sure of that, dearie. I am sure of that." Mr. Gold said. "Now I'll be on my way. Ladies." He nodded and stood up before Belle did the same and smiled over at Regina. "I'll let Henry know that we're done here."

Belle walked out with Gold, but before she could leave, he put a hand on her arm to stop her. "Miss Hayes." He held out a business card with "Gold's Pawnshop and Antiquities" embossed in gold on the front of it. "My card. In case you ever need anything." He turned to leave before she could say a word to thank him. Gold found himself liking Belle Hayes. She was a good mother and she left behind her whole life to protect her son. That was the only conclusion he could come up with. That above all else made her more honorable than anyone in this God Forsaken town. Though he was still curious. What did happen to Belle and her boy to make them come here?


	3. Chapter 3: A New Beginning?

**Author's Notes: Thank you so much to the people that took the time to read and review my work! This is sort of fluffy, but sort of serious too. Hope you enjoy!**

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Chapter 3: A New Beginning?

Belle tucked Mr. Gold's card into her purse. She knew she would have to get the keys from him eventually, but right now she wanted to get something to eat. Of course she hadn't had the time to go grocery shopping so it was off to the diner. She walked in and saw the Sheriff talking to Ruby as well as a bookish looking man with red hair and an umbrella at his side. Odd. There didn't look to be any rain coming, so why did he have the umbrella? She shook the thought from her head before moving to the bar to join them. "Good Afternoon." She said pleasantly while lifting Adam into a chair.

"Hey, Belle!" Ruby said lightly. "How are you today?"

"I'm doing really well. It looks like I'm going to be the new librarian and we'll be living above the library." Belle said with a bright smile as she rubbed her son's back. "I think it'll be fun."

"That place hasn't been used in a few years." The red headed man said. He had a soft voice and he looked nice enough. "It's going to be a bit of a fixer upper I'd say."

Belle laughed softly. "Well I do like a challenge. I don't think we've met. I'm Belle Hayes." She held out her hand to the man.

"Archie Hopper. It's nice to meet you Miss Hayes."

"_Doctor_ Archie Hopper." Ruby corrected, much to the annoyance of the soft spoken therapist. "Archie here is the resident head shrink."

"You're a therapist?" Belle asked, tilting her head ever so slightly.

Archie shrugged some. "More or less. I just give people a safe place to vent their issues. It's really nothing."

Graham chuckled softly. "Always selling yourself short, Archie. You should stop that."

Adam was watching the adults, trying to figure out what they were talking about, but after awhile he gave up and tugged on his mom's sleeve. "Mama, I'm hungry." he said quietly. "Can I have chicken tenders this time?"

Belle turned to her son and smiled as she moved his bangs out of his face. Kid needed a haircut. "That's fine. Tell Miss Ruby so she can get it for you."

Adam smiled. "Miss Ruby, I want chicken tenders and apple juice." Belle cleared her throat and gave him a pointed look. "Please." The boy added after he saw his mother.

Ruby almost melted. "Coming right up, little man. How about you, Belle?" She asked.

Belle shrugged some and kept messing with Adam's hair. "I think I'll have chicken tenders too; only I'll have tea."

Ruby nodded and went to the back so the cooks could get started on their meal. "So how did your meeting with Regina go?" Graham asked, looking over at her.

"It went well enough." Belle said, not all that surprised that other people knew about her meeting. It wasn't that unfamiliar since she was from a small town. "Signed the contracts and I start as soon as I can get the place running."

"I'm surprised Mr. Gold wasn't there." Archie said. "He typically oversees everything that has to do with his buildings."

Belle looked over at him and tilted her head some at him. "He was there." she said. "He seemed rather nice to me."

Graham blinked a little and Archie had the good sense not to say anything, but Ruby came back in at the comment and snorted. "That man hasn't been nice since he stepped foot inside this town. He's ruthless and does not hesitate to make people miserable. Trust me. Don't go near him unless you absolutely have to." Ruby's normally happy tone was dark and scathing.

Archie gave Ruby a scolding look. "Ruby! I'm surprised at you." he said. "Mr. Gold is not that bad."

Graham shook his head some and looked between the two. "He's pretty bad though." He pointed out. The Sheriff was called out to properties Gold owned many times to compel people to pay. Some of the tenants looked a little battered, but they never outright said Gold beat them with that infernal cane of his. "I agree with Ruby. Be careful with him, Belle. Avoid him when you can."

The therapist shook his head some and started to clean his glasses. Hopper always tried to see the good in everyone, but even he found it hard to believe that Gold was redeemable. It was just in his nature to play devil's advocate as it were. He stayed quiet though. Archie knew that he was in the minority when it came to Gold.

"I'm not going to be able to avoid him that much. From the sound of it, no one can." Belle said simply. "And besides, as long as he doesn't hurt my kid then I don't really care what he does." She looked over at Adam, who was busy with a coloring book and completely tuning out the grown-ups. Belle smiled softly and moved her fingers through his shaggy brown hair.

Ruby smiled at Adam while his brow was furrowed in concentration. That dinosaur picture appeared to have all of Adam's concentration. Perhaps it was for the best. Adam didn't need to listen to what was going on. He was only five. "He appears to be pretty content with that picture there."

Belle giggled softly and nodded. "Yeah. He likes to color a lot. It's one of the few things that completely distracts him from what is going on." She would always send him to his room with a coloring book when Devin would come home in a rage. It would keep him busy for hours and by the time he realized it was bed time, Devin was passed out and Belle was getting herself back together again. Something must have shown on her face because when she looked back at them Archie was looking at her funny. "What?" she asked.

Archie just shook his head some. "Oh nothing, sorry." he said and cleared his throat before he got up. "Well I'll be going. See you all later." As he left though, he carefully slipped his card into Belle's purse. There was something in her eyes that made him worry for her. Ruby said she was here because she was running away from something and while he wouldn't ask her outright what it was, he would be there if she wanted to talk. "It was nice to meet you, Belle."

"Nice to meet you too, Doctor." She said lightly. Ruby came back out with her food and Adam's and they started to eat. Graham chatted with Ruby and Belle chimed in occasionally. It was nice to be back in a tight knit community without having to deal with people thinking she was crazy. Here she was just a new person trying to get a fresh start. Back home she already was an established freak and had questions about her mental health to boot. While she ate her gaze would always flicker to Adam to make sure he wasn't playing with his food or having a hard time eating it. She already tore the tenders up into pieces to make it easier for him, but she'd always worry.

"He's so well behaved." Graham commented. "All the five year olds I've ever known have been so hyper. Well with the exception of Henry."

Ruby nodded in agreement. "How do you do it?" she asked. "I try to babysit kids and they walk all over me."

Belle just giggled some as she sipped her sweet tea. "Well… Kids are just tiny grown-ups. If you respect them, then they'll respect you. But at the same time you have to be firm with them. No always means no, even if they do try to make up for bad behavior later."

"Ah, so that's where I go wrong… I just give them what they want and hope that makes them stop screaming." Ruby confessed.

The young mother laughed some and shook her head. "Nope. That won't do at all. It's a delicate little balance, that's for sure." Belle smiled and then thought about something. "Oh. Tomorrow is Monday isn't it.."

Sheriff Graham nodded. "Yeah, it is."

"There's a kindergarten in town right? I want to get Adam into a routine as soon as possible." Belle explained, looking between the two.

"Oh sure there is." Ruby said. "It's at the end of the next block. It's also the elementary and middle school, but they keep the kids pretty well separated. The high school is in another building. And it's public so there's no fees or anything."

Belle nodded and was relieved for that. "It's a good school right?"

Graham nodded. "Oh most definitely. A very good school. I think Adam will like it a lot. And you should be satisfied with it as well."

"Wonderful. I'll get him enrolled tomorrow then." Belle nodded as she took out a notepad and wrote down a reminder in it. Hopefully they wouldn't ask too many questions about his background.

While this was going on, Adam started to scratch at his arm again. He tried not to cry, but it was itching so bad since it was healing. "Mama." he mumbled, tugging on her arm again. "Mama, it itches still." Poor Adam sounded so miserable and it broke Ruby's heart.

"What itches, sweetie?" Ruby asked, moving to get a look at his arm.

Belle got pretty defensive as far as her posture went and she moved to block her son from Ruby so she could put more ointment on the wound. It was nothing personal, just instincts. A mother trying her best to protect her baby from harm. "His arm." Belle explained, her voice tense.

Adam pulled up his sleeve and Ruby gasped, putting her hand over her mouth while her eyes went wide. "Honey, what happened?" she asked, looking between the boy and his mother.

Graham caught a glimpse of the burn too and his eyes grew almost protective. The Sheriff was very fond of kids, especially sweet ones like Adam, and the thought of someone doing that to him just pissed him off.

Belle clenched her jaw some and started to put the ointment on the burn gently. She didn't trust herself to speak at the moment and what came out of her son's mouth next almost brought tears to her eyes. "My daddy is mean." He said quietly. "He didn't love us, so he burned me…" Belle's whole body was tense as she put the ointment away, able to feel the eyes of Ruby and Graham on her. Pity was the last thing she wanted from anyone and she wasn't about to let them feel sorry for her. "But we got away, didn't we, Baby." The boy's mother whispered, smoothing back his hair. "And he's never going to bother us again."

Adam smiled a little and nodded. "Right." he confirmed. Once the itch in his arm was gone, he went back to eating like nothing ever happened. It took Belle a bit longer to recover, and when she did, she pinned both the sheriff and the waitress with a hard stare. "I don't want your charity okay? Or your pity. I came here to get my son away from that monster, nothing more."

Ruby nodded and looked at the boy, her eyes troubled. "He's so little… Why did your husband do it?"

Belle shrugged some. "Because he was drunk and I wasn't home to protect my boy." she said quietly. It was obvious that she blamed herself, but what mother wouldn't? Her son was in agony for almost an hour before Belle got home and took him to the hospital. It was that night that she knew what she was going to have to do. And she did it.

Graham made a noise in the back of his throat that sounded almost like a growl. "Bastard isn't worth the skin he has." He muttered before clearing his throat. "Excuse the language."

Belle just waved it off. "He's heard worse in his time." she said quietly. "The important thing now is that we're not there anymore and he's safe. That is all I care about." With that, the conversation was over and Belle asked for her check. "We should get going. I have to get the keys from Mr. Gold still and get settled into our new apartment."

The Sheriff nodded some. "Well if you need anything, you have my card. Don't hesitate to call in case you need some boxes to be lifted."

"Oh! Here's my number too." Ruby said, writing it down on Belle's check. "I'll help you get settled and decorate if you like."

"Thank you. Both of you. We should be able to manage, but if things get a little squirrely then I will give one of you a call." Belle said before she paid her bill and slipped off the counter. "Come on, Sweetheart. Time to go. Tell them bye."

Adam gave a big sweet smile and waved. "Bye bye, Ruby. Bye bye, Sheriff." Of course he was five and couldn't quite make the 'sh' sound, which made it all the more adorable.

Ruby and Graham waved back as the little boy and his mother left before they traded looks of concern and disgust. "If that man manages to find them, I'm putting a bullet in him." Graham growled. Ruby just nodded in agreement. She might have been the town gossip, but even that subject was going to remain off limits to her. Just picturing the burn mark on that sweet little boy was enough to make her sick. She didn't think anyone was capable of doing something like that. Not even the monstrous Mr. Gold.

"I just hope he doesn't find her." Ruby confessed. "That poor woman must have gone through hell…" Belle didn't seem like the kind of woman that would let something that bad happen to her kid. She had to have taken a lot of beatings to make sure that he would be safe. "I just can't imagine why she would stay. I mean… If the man that beat her was Adam's father then she must have been with him at least five years.. Right?"

Graham just shrugged and stood up so he could get back to work. "Hard to say, Ruby. Hard to say. People like that man have ways of keeping their victims in line. It's terrible, but it's the truth."

Ruby sighed softly and nodded. "I guess you're right. Anyway. Have a good day, Sheriff. See you later."

"Bye, Ruby. Take care." The Sheriff said before walking out of the diner and on to the streets of Storybrooke.

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**One more thing! Next chapter will have some actual Rumbelle action! (nothing dirty) It should be fun! Don't forget to R&R! Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4: It's Just a Cup

**Author's Note: I just wanted to thank ALL of you for your support! It makes writing this story so much easier and a lot more enjoyable knowing that people actually like it! Also I would like to announce that The Girl Who Flys gets all the glitter and confetti and cookies and brownies and feels for picking up on the fact that Adam is in fact paying homage to Disney's Beast. I was honestly hoping someone would get that. :) Anyway! To the Rumbelle feels!**

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Chapter 4: It's Just a Cup

Belle walked with Adam down the sidewalk towards Mr. Gold's pawn shop. It was right across the street from the library and it looked to be doing pretty well as far as business went. Of course then she remembered that he was also collecting rent from everyone in town and could more than afford to keep a place like this going even if it didn't do any business. "Okay, baby, stay close to me and don't touch anything. A lot of things look breakable."

Adam nodded and held Belle's hand as they stepped into the shop. The bell chimed, but the little boy barely heard it. There was so much to see: old toys, books, puppets, clocks, trains, scary looking Victorian porcelain dolls. At first Adam stayed by his mom because of the sheer volume of stuff that filled the little area.

Gold was in the back trying to fix a cuckoo clock when he heard the front door open. He rolled his eyes and grumbled to himself. Someone always wanted something from him when he was busy. "Be with you in a second." He called out. His accent was a little thicker out of irritation.

"Oh we're in no hurry, Mr. Gold." Belle assured him while she took in the sights of the little shop. She was almost as curious about the place as her son was, and just as leery of some of the wares. Belle never liked dolls. Even as a little girl she always felt like they would either come to life and try to kill her in her sleep or their soulless eyes would take her own soul from her. She looked away from the dolls and focused instead on an antique tea set. It reminded her of the one her grandmother had. It was white porcelain with gold leaf on the rims of the cups.

Mr. Gold blinked at the sound of the southern drawl and for some reason he found himself relaxing. The newcomer was pretty nice and she didn't seem to know his reputation so she wasn't afraid of him… yet. Gold was sure he would do something to make her hate him though. It was sort of a talent of his. He reached for his cane and stood up slowly, gritting his teeth against the searing pain that went through his knee. His mind flashed to his stint in the British Royal Army that led to his injury before he pushed the memory away. Now wasn't the time to dwell on the past. Slowly he limped into the main area of his shop and put on a polite yet business like smile. "Miss Hayes. A pleasure to see you so soon. How can I help you?"

Belle smiled back and nodded her head to the older gentleman. "Mr. Gold." She greeted. "You have the keys to the library and the apartment above it. I was just wanting to get moved in tonight."

"Oh yes, that's right. Forgive me for forgetting." Mr. Gold said as he leaned down to pick up the lock box behind the counter. Even he was surprised at himself. He should have been expecting her to come see him. So why didn't he? _Get yourself together, man. Calm and collected. Just another business venture._ He had to tell himself that so he wouldn't focus on how pretty this woman was. She had to be in her twenties which put her at half his age.

"No worries." Belle said, giving him a bright smile. "You have an interesting place here. Must have taken years to collect everything."

"A few." Mr. Gold admitted, glancing over at her. His hands stilled as something inside him began to flutter. Was that his heart? He was sure that it had stilled long ago, but apparently that was not the case. Not anymore. "Do you like it?" A shock ran through him. What did he care if she liked his shop? Weird.

Belle giggled and looked around for her son before smiling. "Yeah… Though I will admit the dolls are a little creepy." Adam was pressing his face against the glass to get a better look at some of the shiny trinkets behind the pane.

Gold chuckled. "Not overly fond of dolls are you, Miss Hayes?" he asked. "I thought girls from your part of the world loved them."

Belle gave a very non lady like snort while she shook her head. "That might be true, but it's not the case for me. I was always afraid they would come to life and mess with me or something."

"Oh is that a fact?" Mr. Gold asked. "Well that is interesting. Though I don't think those dolls are possessed. Course I could be wrong." He smirked as Belle cast a wary glance over her shoulder to the porcelain dolls.

Adam glanced at the dolls too before he got up and wandered over to the toys. A lot of them were old toys from the fifties and before. A few were pretty valuable, but most of them were junk. Belle kept an eye on him still before she heard the sound of keys being dropped on the counter.

"Here you go, Miss Hayes. Blue key ring is for the library, orange is for the apartment. The electricity is on, but you might need a few light bulbs replaced." The Scotsman said easily.

Belle looked over at the keys and took them off the counter, looking at the key rings and recalling Gold's words. "I think I can handle that." She said easily. If she could get away from her abusive husband then she could handle a few light bulbs. She looked over at the older man and smiled. "How come you don't call me Belle? Everyone else does."

Gold smirked some and shrugged. "I'm not familiar enough with you. If you call someone by their first name, then it breeds familiarity. There's no room for that in my business."

"Who says that's my first name?" Belle asked, mimicking his smirk. As always, her eyes flickered back to the main area of the store to make sure Adam was nearby and staying out of trouble.

"It isn't?" Gold asked, tilting his head some. Curiosity had always been in his nature, and he always liked knowing exactly who he was dealing with. It made it easier to manipulate people into giving him what he wanted.

The young woman just shook her head and giggled softly. "Nope." she said easily. "It's not, but I like Belle a lot better than my given name."

Gold leaned against the counter and pinned Belle with a stare, one that most found intimidating. The woman didn't seem all that effected by it though. Maybe he was losing his touch. "And what, pray tell, is your given name?"

Belle just laughed and shook her head. "Oh I can't tell you that now. Wouldn't want you to get too familiar with me." She winked at him before facing him fully and giving an impish grin. "You know, people told me you were this dangerous, scary guy and that I shouldn't deal with you more than I had to."

Gold's copper eyes darkened until they were almost black and he gave a very deadly smirk. "Is that a fact?" He asked. His Scottish brogue became much more pronounced and his voice lowered until it was almost a growl. "They're right about me, dearie. I can be a very dangerous man."

Amusement sparked in Belle's bright blue eyes and she laughed a little. "Oh I don't doubt that. Anyone can be dangerous given the right push. Even me." Belle grinned and propped her chin on her hand while her elbow rested on the counter. For some reason his accent going deeper and his eyes darkening made the older man attractive to her. Maybe it was the fact she saw something behind his eyes. Regret? Sadness? Shame? Belle couldn't quite put her finger on what it was, but it was definitely there.

The shopkeeper chuckled darkly. "I highly doubt that, dearie. I don't think you could be a danger to anyone."

Belle's smile turned into a dangerous smirk that rivaled his own. "No?" She tilted her head at him and giggled softly. It wasn't the carefree one she just gave though. It was closer to his dark chuckle. "Normally you'd be right, but you've never seen me protect my son." Gold looked into her eyes and was actually surprised at what he saw there. It was a deep knowledge, one that he had seen in his days in the Army before his knee was injured. He saw that in the eyes of men he knew had killed before. But that wasn't possible. This sweet young woman couldn't possibly be capable of killing. Could she? His eyes flickered to the boy that was looking at some of the trains on a low shelf and he remembered the burn that he saw earlier that day. Gold's jaw clenched a little before he forced himself to relax.

"That's why you left your home then? To protect your son." He asked, looking over at Belle again. He might hit a nerve, but he wanted to know exactly who he was dealing with. If she was the kind of woman that could kill, then he at least wanted to make sure she only killed if she had to.

Belle's eyes went to Adam and she seemed to freeze. Untold horrors ran through her mind's eye and the echoes of screams filled her ears. Her son was curled up in the floor crying for her while his bastard of a father was sleeping in their bed. Her jaw clenched as she forced herself to come back to the real world so she could answer his question. "Yes." she said, her voice shockingly steady. "I left that place to make sure my son would never be hurt again. His father was a worthless drunk. I should have left him years ago, but with no money…" Belle shrugged some and took a breath. "I told myself that I would stay as long as he never laid a hand on Adam. I.. I took some pretty bad beatings, but I didn't care. Not as long as my son was safe. But then I came home from work and…" She had to stop and take a breath, forcing herself not to cry at the memory. "Adam was in the floor screaming for me. He was holding his arm and I could smell burning flesh. A part of me couldn't believe that he did it, and yet I wasn't surprised." She shook her head some and rubbed her face. "So I took Adam to the hospital, went back home, packed our things and when he was discharged we left."

Gold's face was a mask of fury and his hands were gripping the counter so hard that the wood started to creak in protest. "His father did that to him?" The question was almost intelligible because of how think his accent had become. Gold would give anything and everything to have his son back in his arms and yet there was a bastard out there that would willingly hurt his own son for his own amusement. Part of him wanted to hunt Adam's father down and kill him. The other part just wanted to torture him slowly.

Belle nodded and took a breath before letting it out slowly. "Yes. He did." She looked over at him and was a little surprised at the anger that was there. For being the town monster, he sure did have a problem with children being hurt. That made her wonder. "Do you have children, Mr. Gold?"

There was a slight hesitation as the fury melted away into near sorrow. "I did once. A little boy. I lost him when he was around your son's age." He said quietly. Gold blinked and then cleared his throat before putting his business face back on. "But it was a long time ago."

"Doesn't matter." Belle said softly. "I couldn't imagine losing him. I applaud you for still standing. I wouldn't be able to."

"We do what we must, dearie. We do what we must." Gold cleared his throat again before looking at the time. "While that was a lovely chat, I'll be closing soon and you should get settled before it gets too dark."

Belle smiled some and nodded. "Agreed." She went over to Adam and kissed the top of his head before she lead him back to the front of the store. While they were maneuvering through the furniture though, Belle's hip bumped against the table and one of the white porcelain cups fell from the antique tea set and hit the ground in a way that caused the rim of the cup to chip. Belle gasped and leaned down to pick it up. "Oh I am so sorry, Mr. Gold." She looked up at him, worried that it had been something of value that was now ruined. "I am pretty sure that I can fix it."

Normally Gold would have gone into a near rage at someone damaging something that belonged to him. He took great pride in caring for his things and making sure nothing was out of place, even for a moment. This time however, he didn't feel much irritation. If anything he was a little amused that this woman was so worried about something so simple. Gold smiled some and shrugged. "It's just a cup." he said easily. "Nothing to worry about."

Belle visibly relaxed and just replaced the cup back on the serving tray and smiled. "Well then I'll get out of here before I ruin more of your things. Have a good night, Mr. Gold. Adam, say good night."

Adam looked up at Mr. Gold and gave a bright smile, similar to his mother's. "Good night, Mr. Gold." he said softly, waving as his mother led him out of the pawn shop.

Gold just smiled and nodded before he grabbed his cane and limped from behind the counter to the door so he could flip the sign from "Open" to "Closed". His eyes turned to look at the now chipped cup and a soft smile graced his lips. Gold honestly hadn't smiled like that in a long time, but he didn't really put that much thought into it as he moved slowly to the tea set. It was nothing of great worth, but the imperfection in one of the cups would make it nearly impossible to sell. He picked up the cup with something akin to reverence and thought about the young woman that broke it.

She didn't seem like all that much, but there was a fire to her that called to the coward in Gold. He was never what anyone would call a brave man, but he learned to hide that fact under years of masks and deal making that earned him a fierce reputation. He even used his military service to his advantage despite the fact he was injured running away from a compromised mission behind enemy lines. That part managed to get left out. The fact was that after he returned home to his wife and young son, things started to get difficult. His thumb moved over the chip in the cup and without really thinking about it, he put the cup in his pocket to take home with him. There was no need in trying to sell it, and besides, it would be a nice little reminder of his new tenant. Belle, though that wasn't her real name, made him feel alive again. He was so sure that his heart was long frozen before she came into town. This was a rather interesting predicament he found himself in. Gold shook the feeling off though and made his way to his shiny black car before heading home for the night.


	5. Chapter 5: Quid Pro Quo

**Author's Note: Okay so this chapter is about twice as long as the last one (based on word count) and has a whole lot of Rumbelle and some nifty little ideas/revalations of my own concocting. Please enjoy and as always keep the reviews coming!**

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Chapter 5: Quid Pro Quo

The next three weeks went by in a blur for Belle and Adam. Despite getting into town only a month before summer break, Belle insisted that Adam finish out the year in kindergarten so he would have friends for first grade and so he wouldn't fall too far behind. The routine was good for him though. It made things more normal and that was something both of them desperately needed. While Adam was in school, Belle worked to clean up the library and organized all of the books. It was certainly a daunting task, but Belle loved every second of it. This was the first job she had in a long time that didn't involve someone coming up behind her and telling her what a horrible job she was doing. Ruby and Graham would come over every now and then to check up on her and help out. The company was nice to have and when it was just Belle and Ruby, they would blast music and dance around while they worked. Belle couldn't even remember the last time she had a female friend her own age.

"This place is starting to look awesome!" Ruby chirped a few days before the library was supposed to officially open again. "We could put up posters and paint the walls and bring in some color to this place."

"I think I have to consult the landlord before I do all of that." Belle said as she put another book on the shelf.

Ruby snorted some and looked around. "Then you're lucky you're even able to dust in here." she said drily. "Gold doesn't like people to mess with his stuff."

Belle laughed a little and shook her head before wiping her brow and flopping down in one of the chairs. "Oh he's not that bad." she said.

"Are you serious!?" Ruby spun to gape at her friend. "Mr. Gold is insane, not to mention scary. You know he evicts people if they don't have their rent right when he wants it right? He has no heart! No compassion! How can you say he's not that bad?"

The blue eyed girl arched a delicate eyebrow and just shrugged some. "Because I don't think he's that bad." Belle said easily enough. "Look, I've been around enough bad men to know when someone is really bad and when they're just putting up a front. I just think he's lonely."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Gee I wonder why. He's got all the warmth of a crocodile."

"Lord have mercy." Belle said, her accent becoming thicker.

The waitress burst into a fit of giggles and shook her head. "Wow. Can you say that again? You sounded like you were an extra in Gone With the Wind."

"Shut up!" Belle exclaimed with a slight shove to her friend's frame. She was serious though. Mr. Gold was just a lonely old man that kept people at a distance so he wouldn't get hurt. That's what she thought anyway. He was always polite to her when they passed on the streets and once they even talked for awhile in his shop while Adam was in school. Belle found the older man's company fascinating, and he didn't seem to mind her company either.

Ruby laughed. "Oh come on! Say something about Miss Scarlet for me! Pretty please! Or quote Rhett Butler."

"Goodbye Ruby." Belle said, shoving her towards the door. "Don't you have work at the diner to do or something?"

"Spoiled sport!" Ruby gave her a hug though and was on her way. She did have more than enough work to do.

Belle just shook her head and snickered some before going back to organizing the shelves. Not two minutes after Ruby left, the door chimed again and Belle rolled her eyes. "Ruby, I'm not quoting Gone With the Wind to you." she said, forcing her drawl to become more pronounced just to get her friend to laugh. Instead she got a pretty familiar chuckle.

"Well now, dearie, that would be something to hear." Mr. Gold said as he stepped into the lobby of the library. "Though that's not why I stopped by."

Belle blinked and quickly got down from the ladder before moving into the aisle. Sure enough Mr. Gold was standing right there with both hands on his cane dressed in his immaculate grey suit with a bright red tie. "No? That's a shame. I do a wonderful Miss Scarlet." she said, teasing him a little.

Mr. Gold just chuckled and gave a small smirk. It was the closest he came to actually smiling. "I'm sure you do. This isn't a social call though. It's time for rent to be collected."

Sure enough it was, but fortunately Belle had been doing some odd work around town. She helped out at the diner and at the bed and breakfast on top of working tirelessly at the library so she could have enough money to feed her son and keep up with their bills. "So it is." Belle said. "One second." She dusted her jeans off before going upstairs, counting out the exact amount for her rent for the apartment, and putting that money in an envelope. She also counted out the money for the library space and put that in a separate envelope. She came back down about five minutes later and smiled as she handed Mr. Gold the envelopes. "There you go. Rent for the apartment and rent for the library. Pretty sure it's all there."

Gold was pretty impressed with Belle at that moment. He was almost sure that she was going to ask for mercy or an extension. Everyone else did and he wasn't expecting the single mother to be any different. He seriously underestimated her. "I'm sure it is." He found himself saying.

Belle giggled. "You look surprised that I paid at all." She tilted her head at him and watched as he tried to keep his business mask on. There was something flickering behind his eyes though and Belle knew she caught him. "You really didn't think I'd pay. Such little faith Mr. Gold."

Gold cleared his throat and put the envelopes in his inside jacket pocket. "I'm accustomed to people going back on their word. Forgive me for doubting yours, Miss Hayes." Today he had three people beg him for more time, each time he refused. He told himself he would have done the same with Belle, but deep down he wasn't so sure.

Belle just giggled some and shook her head. "My daddy taught me to pay my debts. If you're dumb enough to get yourself in debt then you best become smart enough to get yourself out. That's what he'd always tell me."

"Your father sounds like a smart man." Gold said, watching her as she turned her back to go back to work. At least that's what he assumed she was going to do.

"He had his moments. Would you like some tea, Mr. Gold? It won't take long to get a pot going." Belle was moving towards the stairs and she turned her head to look back at the older man.

Mr. Gold blinked and his head tilted ever so slightly. "I don't think that would be wise, Miss Hayes. I should be going."

Belle rolled her eyes and gave him a flat look. "Oh come on, Gold. It's a Saturday, what do you have to do other than count your money?" She grinned at the look he gave her. Belle was sure that she should have been cowering by then and begging him not to be angry for her speaking out of turn, but she was more amused than anything. "Adam is on a play date with Henry and aside from Ruby I haven't had any grown up time."

"I would hardly consider Miss Lucas a grown up." Mr. Gold said, smirking a little more. "Very well. If you insist, I suppose I could spare time for some tea."

"Excellent!" Belle said brightly. "I'll be right back. There's a table and chairs to the left if you want to sit down." She knew that his leg must be hurting him since she saw him walking around most of the day, but Belle also knew that the male ego was a fragile thing so she didn't want to be blatant about her concern.

Sitting down did sound wonderful. Gold's knee had been screaming at him for blocks, but he had long since trained himself to not show weakness especially in this town. In his mind, there was no reason to give these fools the pleasure of smelling his blood in the water. Bloody sharks. "Thank you, Miss Hayes." he said smoothly before making his way to the indicated table. Once the weight was off of his knee, Gold nearly shuddered in pleasure. He rubbed the offending joint and took a breath to steady himself. Oh what he wouldn't give to be young again.

Belle stood on her tip toes to get to the herbs in the top cabinet. Her grandmother taught her a brilliant herbal tea recipe for aching joints. To be honest, Belle needed it because she had been carrying boxes and stuff around, but she knew that Mr. Gold would need it for his knee. She let the water boil while she mixed the herbs together and got her own tea set down. It had been a gift from her grandmother, but it never got unpacked so bringing it with her was no trouble. Belle put creamer in the dish before getting some cookies she made for Adam earlier. Sugar was also added to the proper dish and then she put the tea and water in the tea pot before making sure everything was steady on the tray. She carefully made her way downstairs and then smiled brightly at Mr. Gold before sitting down with him at the table. "Sorry about that. It's been awhile since I made tea properly."

Mr. Gold raised an eyebrow and was honestly impressed with the tea set she had. It was very nice and expensive from the looks of it. He watched as she poured him a cup and moved the creamer and sugar his way. "I'm sure it's lovely." Gold said, fixing his tea the way he liked it. "Though I will admit, I'm not familiar with this blend." He raised the cup to his nose and sniffed it before taking a sip. "It is very good though." Gold added as not to offend her.

Belle smiled and went about fixing her tea as well. "My grandma would be proud to hear that." she said. "It's her recipe. She was the one that taught me how to hold tea like a proper lady. Very old school, but she would speak her mind and put any man in his place before he could blink twice."

Gold chuckled and leaned back in the chair, stretching out his leg. Oddly enough the pain in his knee was easing up. Hm. Odd. He sipped more of the tea. "Sounds like a formidable woman." The older man commented.

"You have no idea. She was fearless. No matter how mad My grandfather got at her, she would just look him in the face and tell him 'Now, Johnny, if you can't calm down you just need to take yourself outside and walk around because I will not have this kind of behavior in my house.' Just like that too." Belle giggled. She had to make her accent even thicker, but her voice soft. She really did sound like she was from the Antebellum south.

Both of the corners of Gold's mouth twitched up into a semi smile, but even then it was a shock to him. What was it about this girl that made him smile? What was it about her that made him even want to smile? The stirring in his chest was becoming more pronounced and it felt more like a beating. Maybe he really did have a heart somewhere deep down. "Did it work?" he asked.

"Mhm. Like a charm." Belle said lightly, setting her cup down on the saucer before nudging the plate of cookies to him. "Here, have a cookie. Adam swears they're the best he's ever had." She smiled and rolled her eyes some as if a five year old's word on cookies could possibly convince him; but still it was pretty entertaining. "Of course I think he might be slightly biased."

"That is possible." Gold smirked as he snagged a cookie from the plate. Normally he tried to stay away from sweets, but he saw no problem with them as long as he was eating them while taking tea. His eyes widened the tiniest of bits as he took a bite. It was quite delicious. Sweet without being overwhelming and the chocolate chips were dark chocolate. "Though I will admit these are rather delicious." Gold admitted after a second bite. "Never knew people to use dark chocolate chips."

Belle grinned and winked. "Grandma's recipe yet again." She said easily. "Woman taught me everything I know. Would you believe that she even made me take etiquette classes and I was part of a Cotillion?"

Gold raised an eyebrow and actually let out a laugh at that. "A Cotillion? You? Forgive me, Miss Hayes, but I don't see you as a society lass."

Belle giggled and shrugged. "I actually enjoyed it for the most part. Only did it one year though. After that I remembered how comfortable jeans were and never looked back. Still remember a few things though." She motioned to the tea set. "Like how to make tea and how to ballroom dance." Belle put her elbow on the table and rest her delicate chin on her palm. "What about you, Mr. Gold? Do you dance?"

"Come now, dearie. With this leg do you think I could dance?" Gold said, smirking as he watched her. Though with how his leg was feeling now he thought he could spin her around a dance floor once or twice. Come to think of it, his entire body was feeling much better; the ache in his shoulders and ankles were gone. "What exactly is in this tea, Miss Hayes?" he asked, his tone becoming suspicious now.

The brunette raised an eyebrow at the older man's tone. "The tea, Mr. Gold?" She shrugged a little and named off some known medicinal herbs. "Nothing harmful, I assure you. I wouldn't drink it otherwise." As if to prove her point, she took another sip. "My back was sore so I figured this tea would help ease the pain."

"Oh is that a fact?" Gold asked her, still not sounding all that convinced. He took issue with this woman giving him any form of care. What did he do to deserve it? A few conversations did not make them friends. In fact he just took a good chunk of her income for the month. Why should he believe anything she said?

Belle's bright blue eyes flashed with mild irritation. "Is is, sir." she said, her accent thickening slightly. "I very rarely lie."

For some reason Gold believed her. It was probably the indignation ringing in her voice and the real irritation in her eyes. The coward in him told him to apologize to her at once, but the businessman wanted to see if he could use this to his advantage. "I see…" He mused before he gave a very calculating grin and leaned forward. "So tell me: what is Belle short for? Surely it is a nickname."

Belle blinked and a few different emotions crossed over her face. Irritation, caution, admiration even; this man was very intelligent and she kind of found it attractive. "It is." She said, leaning back in her chair and giving him a winning smile. "It's short for Bellamy."

"Bellamy." Gold said, almost tasting the name as it rolled off his tongue. "That is a lovely name. Does it have some history in your family?"

"It does." She said with a nod. "My fearless grandmother." Belle smiled. "Queen of the Cotillions and Mistress of Etiquette herself, Bellamy Ann."

Gold chuckled some and nodded. "Well it is a lovely first name. You must be honored to have it."

Mischief sparked in her eyes as she watched the older man. "Oh now I never said Bellamy was my _first_ name, Mr. Gold. That's just why people call me Belle. Bellamy is my middle name."

Gold blinked, somewhere between annoyed and amused that this woman managed to trick him, even in a subtle way. "Well played, Miss Hayes. Very well played. Don't suppose I can sneak your given name out of you?"

Belle shook her head. "Nope." she said lightly. "But… Since I gave you my middle name, I think it's only fair that you tell me yours. Quid Pro Quo if you will." Belle honestly didn't think he'd go for it, but it was worth a shot.

The older man raised both eyebrows that time and had to put his cup down so he could study her intensely. "Now why on earth would you want to know _my_ middle name, Miss Hayes?" Gold was a firm believer in names holding power. There were only a handful of people in this world that knew his full given name, and all of them were deceased. While Gold was pretty sure the girl would not use his name against him, he wasn't quite willing to let her in. Of course it was just his middle name. And she did tell him hers…

Belle just giggled some and shrugged. "Just trying to see if there's something underneath all of the myth and legend that is Mr. Gold." she said. "You had to have come from somewhere, and you must have a real name other than 'Mr. Gold'. It was just a proposition. You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to." Belle smiled and stayed perfectly relaxed in her chair while she finished her tea.

Gold gave the young woman a rather distrusting stare. He had to put up his walls again. This was already getting a little too cozy for his liking. Tea and cookies? Honestly. This was not his usual style. "Ever think that the myths and legends are true, dearie? What if I am the monster that everyone says I am?" His tone was dark and bleak, almost a growl. Gold was so used to being alone that this small, human courtesy was causing him pain. At least he was now that he was truly thinking about it. And yet… He couldn't bring himself to leave. Not just yet. It was like he needed to know if she really thought he was a monster. Gold needed that validation from her. If she agreed with everyone then he could put his walls back up and it would be business as usual. If not though… Well there was no reason why she would not agree with them.

Belle just snorted and shook her head. "If you were then you wouldn't have accepted my invitation to tea. And you wouldn't get angry when you think of the burn mark on my son's arm. Plus I don't think you're the type to steal and eat children." She said, adding a bit of sarcasm to her last statement.

Gold blinked and then smirked, allowing himself another dark chuckle. "You're right about that, dearie. They are awful noisy and too hard to catch."

Belle laughed, a merry sound and shook her head again. "You're a mess, Mr. Gold. An absolute mess." In the South it was a term of endearment. If someone was a mess then they were amusing or entertaining. Her tone would have given that much away. "Truth be told, Mr. Gold, as long as you don't become a danger to my son or myself, I don't really care what you do. I'll pay my rent on time, say hello when we pass on the street and I'll offer you tea every time you come into my library. That is just the kind of girl I am. I like to make my own opinions of people, and in my opinion you're just a lonely man that keeps people at a distance because you've been hurt one too many times for your liking."

The old deal maker became entranced with the sound of her laughter. He had this sudden desire to make her laugh like that again and as often as he possibly could. Gold sobered up at her words though. If only she knew how right she was. He cleared his throat some and looked down at his finger as it circled the rim of his cup. "I am fairly certain that you are the only one that has that opinion of me, Miss Hayes." Mr. Gold said quietly, his voice almost subdued and tired sounding. "People around here tend to see only what I allow them to see. The monster persona has become quite comfortable for me." Which begged the question: how did she see through it? It was like she had some sort of gift and he wasn't entirely sure he liked it.

Belle just gave Mr. Gold a soft smile and she shrugged. "I sort of pride myself on going against what people expect of me. In the town I was raised in, I was the crazy girl that liked to read. I graduated top of my class and had a real shot of going somewhere, but then life happened and I made a choice."

"Adam." Mr. Gold guessed. "You chose to raise your son." There was respect in his tone and something close to admiration in his eyes. "Not many people would make that same choice."

"As I said, I like going against expectations." Belle giggled. She looked over at the clock, blinked, and then looked down at her watch. "Shoot." She mumbled. "Adam's going to be home any minute and I haven't fixed his supper." Belle stood up and moved to clean up the table and put her cup and saucer back on the tray. "I'm sorry to have kept you for most of the day, Mr. Gold. I hope that you didn't have any more rent to collect."

Gold shook his head and politely put his own cup and saucer on the tray so she wouldn't have to. "No, I didn't. This was, fortunately, my last stop." He responded before grabbing his cane and standing up. His knee was behaving courtesy of that tea. Gold reminded himself to get the recipe from her at a later date. For now though he had to get going. "My apologies for keeping you from your other duties."

"Oh, please, I had a wonderful time." Belle said, laughing that same enchanting way again. "We really should do this more often. I'll even make more cookies." She winked at him.

Despite himself, Gold gave her an extremely rare genuine smile in return and laughed very softly. "Perhaps. But for now, I'd best be on my way. You may not mind your reputation going to hell because of me, but I do have my own reputation to think of." He was trying to be serious, but it came off as sarcastic and gained another snort from Belle.

"Right, because you really want people to think you're going to steal their children in the night and make them into a haggis." Belle said, giving him a sort of knowing look. He had fun, and she knew it even if he wasn't going to admit it.

Gold put on his best sinister grin and drummed his fingers on the top of his cane. "Precisely, dearie. Makes things easier when it comes to collecting on debts." He surprised himself by winking at her before he quickly turned to the door. Gold's hand was on the handle and he paused before turning and looking at Belle as she moved to go back up the stairs. "Miss Hayes." He said evenly.

"Yes, Mr. Gold?" Belle inquired as she turned carefully on the stairs to look back at him.

He chuckled some and let out a breath. "Toran." Gold said quietly. "My middle name is Toran. It means watchtower."

There was a moment's pause before he heard a soft giggle. "Toran. I like it." Belle said softly. "Have a good night, Mr. Gold."

"Good night, Miss Hayes." And with that, Mr. Gold left the library and went to his own shop, ignoring anyone and anything that might have been on the road. His mind was racing from what just occurred and he wasn't sure whether to be concerned or elated. All he knew was that for some God only knows reason, Belle saw past the monster that he pretended to be. Why? He didn't know. But it gave him something that he didn't dare have in quite a long time. Hope.


	6. Chapter 6: Mind Games

**Author's Note: This is a bit choppy. Sorry about that, but it makes sense (I hope). There's also a bit of the Mayor we all love to hate showing reasons we love to hate her, and Belle being pretty badass if I do say so myself. As always, thank you for the reviews and naturally I own nothing but my slightly odd imagination. **

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Chapter 6: Mind Games

The next day Belle went by the pawnshop to make sure it was okay to paint the inside of the building. She had forgotten to ask during their little tea time. Gold gave his consent and honestly wished Belle could have stayed longer, but she had so much to do before the library opening. Ruby along with Granny Lucas, Graham, Dr. Hopper, Adam, and Henry helped Belle paint the entire inside of the library in only a few hours. Belle was so grateful for their help and impressed with the fine job they did. The walls were now a soft blue color and she made a note to hire someone later that could paint a mural on one of the back walls for the children's area. The new librarian was finding that she had not been this happy in quite some time.

The busy day of painting and planning left both Belle and Adam absolutely exhausted. They did good to make it to their beds before passing out for the night. After a good night's sleep, Belle got showered and dressed before getting her grouchy five year old up and dressed as well. Once Adam was in school, Belle started to make some of her chocolate chip cookies for her helpers and double checked book orders to make sure everything was in place. The opening was going to be tomorrow and she wanted everything to be flawless. The blue eyed librarian was just finishing her last batch of cookies when she heard someone come through the door downstairs. She smiled to herself. "Not even open and I already get so many visitors." she said to herself.

Once the cookies were on the cooling rack she descended the staircase and smiled bigger when she saw her visitor. "Mr. Gold." She said pleasantly. "Good morning. How can I help you?"

Gold was of course dressed immaculately in a charcoal grey suit with a black tie and both of his hands were on top of the cane that was resting in front of him. He gave his thin smirk and nodded in greeting. "Miss Hayes. I was just coming by to see how things were coming. The request for paint had me a little concerned." His tone was semi sarcastic and the slight spark in his eyes made Belle roll her bright blue eyes while she snorted at him.

"Well I do hope that your concerns are no more. I didn't go crazy with the paint. Just some brightening up." Belle said, feigning being insulted by his sarcasm. "Do you like it?"

Mr. Gold chuckled some and looked around again. "It looks very nice, Miss Hayes. I am glad to see that this building was put into good hands."

Belle laughed some and put a hand on her hip before leaning against a nearby table. "Don't sound so surprised." She said drily. "I do tend to know what I'm doing. Mostly anyway."

"I'll remember that from now on." Gold said, chuckling again. He looked around again before his eyes settled on Belle. She was dressed in form fitting jeans, not too tight, but they did accentuate her shapely legs very nicely and the green t-shirt she wore was also tight without being trashy. The neck was cut in a square shape that revealed her collarbone and showed a bit of cleavage, but again it was tasteful. There was a light scar under her left collarbone, but he didn't dwell on that for too long. Her chestnut colored hair was in a braid today, but a strand of it was falling in her face. Belle didn't seem to notice it, but Gold had the sudden urge to tuck it behind her ear for her. Quickly he looked away and cleared his throat, suddenly looking slightly awkward. "Well. That was the only reason I came by. I'll be going now."

Belle giggled at him a little. "You don't have to run off. Everything is pretty much done now. I've got a free day before the big reopening. Why don't we have some tea again?" It wasn't often that a man would talk to her like she had a brain in her head. Sure Graham and Dr. Hopper did, but there was something about Gold that drew her in. Maybe it was the protective anger he had in his eyes when he saw Adam's burn for the first time. There was also the fact that while everyone said he was a horrible person, he was never like that to her. Belle decided that it was the challenge Gold presented. She prided herself on being able to read people as easily as she read books and yet here was Mr. Gold, the very epitome of an enigma with a hint of paradox thrown in for good measure.

Mr. Gold gave a semi polite smile and shook his head. "Thank you, but no. I really must get to work. So much to do and all that." He couldn't help but feel a slight pang of guilt at the look of disappointment in Belle's eyes, but he knew he had to stand his ground. Gold let her in enough already by telling her his middle name. He absolutely could not afford to let this woman into his life and his heart. Horrible things happened when he let people get close to him. Mr. Gold gave her a slight nod before turning to leave. "Good day, Miss Hayes."

The librarian bit her lip and took a breath to steady her voice. "You're coming tomorrow right? For the opening. I'm throwing a bit of a party as it were."

Gold paused for a moment before continuing towards the door. "I make no promises, Miss Hayes." With that, he was gone.

Belle couldn't help but feel a little rejected at his distance. She thought they were at least becoming sort of friendly. Why the cold shoulder now? Belle shook her head some before turning back towards the stairs.

* * *

Mr. Gold made his way back to his shop and clenched his jaw. Damn it. That woman was getting inside his head and there was no way he could allow her to stay there. That look in her eyes made him want to change his mind and go to her little party. He doubted the other people there would have been overly fond of him showing up, but since when had that ever stopped him? Gold often went to events just for the sadistic pleasure of watching people squirm. So why didn't he want to go to this little opening party? His thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of his front door bell and he put on his business face instantly. "Ah. Madam Mayor. What can I do for you this fine day?" He asked with his typical mocking smirk. It was always fun to face her down in his territory.

Regina smirked and shrugged. "Oh I was just in the neighborhood and I thought I'd drop by to see how business was doing." She said with mock sincerity. It was a game of theirs. They would poke at each other and see who snapped first. So far, Mr. Gold had a winning streak going; one that Regina intended to break.

"Business is just fine, dearie." Mr. Gold said smoothly as he leaned against his counter. The more at ease he looked, the more irritated the Mayor appeared to be. Naturally he had to resist the urge to sit in one of his chairs and kick his feet up. "How is running your little kingdom going? All of the peasants behaving? And what of your little prince? Do you like his new friend?" He purposely thickened his Scottish brogue. It made everything seem more frivolous and served to score him points in the breaking of Regina's decorum.

The mayor just laughed a little. "Henry is doing just fine." She said, skipping the first two questions just to spite the pawnshop owner. "His friend Adam is an absolute delight to have around as well. So polite. His mother is doing a remarkable job raising him, don't you think?" Ah hah! There it was. A flicker in his eyes at the mention of the new librarian. Perfect.

Mr. Gold gave a non committal shrug, hoping that nothing showed on his face despite the fact Regina had already seen something in his eyes. He liked Belle for sure. More than that really, he admired her for being strong enough to run away from a man that was clearly going to kill her one day. She was starting a new life in a strange place and she would work three or four jobs a week just to keep food on the table for her boy. Yes, that woman had a fire in her that called to Gold, but he could hardly let Regina know that. Or anyone else for that matter. "As good as she can I suppose." He said drily. "It's hardly any of my affair."

Regina gave a rather cold smirk. "And yet you had tea with her just last week. At least that's what I'm assuming, though I could be wrong." There was a tone in her voice that Gold didn't really appreciate.

"And what do you mean by that, Madam Mayor?" Gold asked rather calmly despite the growing storm behind his dark brown eyes. "We did have tea." He acknowledged. "And then I went home." The fact she knew about that didn't really excite him, but he had come to the conclusion that Regina had eyes and ears all over town so there wasn't much he could do about that. However, he had his own eyes and ears. Gold smirked and chuckled a bit, something like glee entering his eyes. "Our little tea party hardly mirrored the ones you have with our dear Sheriff." He said, his tone becoming extremely condescending.

Regina paled a little and fire flashed through her dark eyes while her jaw and fists clenched. _Calm down, Regina. He's just trying to get under your skin. You have something better. Just relax._ She told herself. In less than thirty seconds she had a rather sinister smile on her face and she shrugged. "Graham and I are consenting adults, as are you and Miss Hayes, but your own little empire would start to crumble if word got around that you were waving rent in return for… _tea parties_." Regina gave a dark chuckle and watched Mr. Gold.

Gold's jaw clenched tightly and he straightened up, gripping the side of the counter tightly with both hands. The innuendo was low even for Regina and Gold did _not_ appreciate the insinuation. The pawnshop owner may have done many things in his life, but he had never taken advantage of a woman despite what some might have said about him. "I would choose my next words very carefully if I were you, dearie." Gold's voice deepened and his accent became much thicker in his near rage. "I might be many things, but I think you and I both know I have more decorum than that."

The mayor gave a bright, almost cheerful smile since she was so close to a victory this time. "Mr. Gold, I would never dream of questioning your sense of decorum. It is of course impeccable. I was just thinking about poor Miss Hayes. After all, she does have a son to support and you are not known for being lenient when it comes to taking late payments." There was a sing song aspect to her tone that Gold just found even more irritating.

He stepped out from behind the counter, gripping his cane tightly so he could check the urge he had to bash Regina in her head with it. It was one thing to insult his honor but a completely different thing to insult a woman that had been nothing but kind and courteous to everyone she's met in this town. "I think it's best that you leave, Madam Mayor." Gold was becoming more and more annoyed as he thought about the things Regina was implying about Belle. He had long since stopped caring what was said about him. "I am sure you must have other things to do than bother me."

The mayor chuckled again and smiled even bigger than she had before. "I'm being a bother to you, Mr. Gold? How rude of me, I do apologize. Of course I'll leave you to your business. Have a good day." Regina said lightly before turning on her heel to exit the building. That had been almost too easy, but still extremely enjoyable. Gold was known for not having weaknesses, but Regina was almost positive he was developing one for the spunky southern librarian.

* * *

The day of the grand reopening came and Belle was so happy that everyone could attend. She was finally able to meet the parents of Adam's other friends and the entire town seemed to enjoy what Belle did with the place. Ruby was such a huge help with keeping food coming to everyone and Graham helped with crowd control. The kids loved the area that Belle set up special for them. So much was going on at once that Belle felt almost drunk. It was the first time in quite a while that she felt like she was somewhere she could call home.

"It's quite wonderful what you've done with this place." Jefferson said, smiling down at Belle. He was the father of one of Adam's friends. Grace if Belle remembered correctly. He was kind of an odd man, but Belle could see how much he cared for his little girl so she was more than willing to look passed that.

Belle smiled up at him and nodded. "Well thank you very much. It was actually a lot of fun." She said lightly. "It was like the library was just waiting for someone to care about her again."

Jefferson laughed and nodded. "Oh I'm sure we all know what that's like." he said before looking to the kids' area to see where Grace was.

Belle followed his gaze and smiled some. "It's hard to raise them by yourself, but it's so much fun too isn't it?"

"It is indeed." Jefferson said, his eyes softening as he continued to watch his little Grace. He was grateful that Belle didn't ask about her mother. It was still so very painful to talk about. Jefferson mirrored the courtesy by not inquiring about Adam's father. "How about you come over and have tea with us one day?" He asked, smiling bigger. "Grace loves holding little tea parties with her stuffed animals. I don't know how interested Adam would be, but if nothing else you could stay for dinner."

Belle giggled softly and nodded. "That would be wonderful. And Grace is always welcome to come here. She is such a sweetheart." She said honestly. There was nothing weird to her about accepting Jefferson's invitation. Yeah, he was a little odd, but there was no romantic interest in his eyes so it wouldn't turn into anything awkward. Besides, Belle got the feeling there was only going to be one girl in his world for quite some time.

"Daddy!" Grace called out from across the room. "Come look at this!" She held up a book and was smiling big. "It's got a rabbit on it!"

Jefferson smiled and bowed his head to Belle. "Excuse me. Duty calls." he chuckled and went to see what his daughter was going on about. She had a mild rabbit obsession that he indulged whenever he could.

Ruby came up when Jefferson left and laughed softly. "He is so weird, but he's a good dad that's for sure."

"He definitely is." Belle said, looking over at Ruby. "How is everything else going? Do I need to get something from upstairs?"

"Nope! Everything is right as rain." The red head said lightly. "People are starting to leave actually. It's getting late."

Graham came over to stand by the ladies and smiled while he looked around. "It came together really nice." He said. "This place is going to be a hit." He winked and nudged Belle lightly, making her laugh.

"One can only hope." Belle said. Her attention turned to the door when it opened and part of her was happy, while the other part filled with a weird sort of dread. Mr. Gold said he may not even show up, but the fact he did with a rather cold look on his face gave her cause for concern.

Ruby raised an eyebrow at Gold and moved a little closer to Belle. For some reason Belle was the only one in this town that wasn't afraid of him. "That look is never good." Ruby muttered. "Brace yourself."

Graham eyed Gold and a few others, wondering what could have possibly put the older man in such a rare form. Of course when he caught Regina's eye it became obvious. She must have said something to bring back the dark side of Mr. Gold that seemed to have taken a vacation since Belle arrived into town.

Belle just shrugged some and put on her hostess smile when Gold made his way over to where she was standing. "Good evening, Mr. Gold. Everything is still in one piece, not to worry." She said lightly.

Mr. Gold looked her over like she was some sort of bug before glancing around the area and shrugging. "I'm sure it is." He said drily. "Just make sure those brats don't tear the place apart."

Belle raised an eyebrow and had to fight down the urge to slap the older man in the face. "Excuse me? Those _children_ are behaving just fine." She said; a warning in her tone. Maybe if she wasn't a mother then the term wouldn't have bothered her so much, but Adam was a good kid and she would be damned if anyone was going to insult him.

"And take care that these people are out of here soon, yeah?" Gold continued on like he didn't even hear her. "This building does have business hours and those hours will be abided by. Do we understand each other?" Mr. Gold turned his hard gaze back to Belle's and inwardly flinched at the look in her eyes.

The old Belle probably would have cowered and started asking people to leave right then and there, but she wasn't that girl anymore. No. She wasn't Belle Kingston, wife of the meanest man in the county anymore. She was Belle Hayes, the new girl that wasn't going to take shit from anyone, not even this man. Belle's blue eyes were cold and hard like sapphires, but she put on a tight lipped polite smile. "Oh, certainly, Mr. Gold." She said; the only hint of her aggression being that she sounded like she was straight off the cotton plantation. "We understand each other perfectly."

Ruby looked at Belle and then at Gold. The tension in that area of the library could officially be cut with a knife. Of course if there was a knife anywhere nearby, Ruby was certain that Belle would have used it on Gold. For as long as Mr. Gold had been in that town, the only one that stood up to him like this was the Mayor, and that was because she was the Mayor and had to prove a point. Belle was just a librarian with a hell of a lot of nerve.

The Mayor however was watching and decided that now was as good a time as any to make an appearance. "Is there a problem here?" she asked diplomatically.

Belle shook her head while still glaring at Mr. Gold. "No, ma'am. No problem here. Mr. Gold was just explaining that my guests needed to be leaving soon." She said with false cheerfulness. Those etiquette classes were sure coming in handy at this moment. "And since he is one of my guests, then I guess that means he'll be leaving too." The look that followed was telling Gold he really didn't have much of a choice in whether he left or not.

Regina raised an eyebrow at both Belle and Mr. Gold. Belle was being rather feisty. She wondered what was said to make her so angry. The mayor just smirked at Mr. Gold though. As far as she was concerned, she was still winning their little game.

"Oh and Mr. Gold." Belle said before he could turn to leave. "Don't ever call my son a brat again or I'll find a new place to stick that cane." With that said, Belle turned on her heel and went to check on the rest of her guests.

Ruby gaped after Belle and traded looks with Graham before she ran off after the librarian. "You are my hero." She whispered in Belle's ear as they walked to the kids' area.

Belle just shrugged some. "Pay me back by saving the 'I told you so' for later then okay?" she muttered. It had been a long time since she felt that kind of hurt and betrayal. Maybe Mr. Gold really was the bastard everyone said he was.

Regina was positively glowing with mirth at this new development. "My my my. You sure do know how to piss a lady off don't you, Mr. Gold." She said easily.

The look that Gold gave Regina promised a slow and painful payback for this, but with the mayor's lapdog standing beside her, it would be very hard to make good on that in the near future. "Good night, Madam Mayor." He said with a growl. Really what he wanted to say was I hope you get hit by a bus, but that would not have gone over so well. Gold turned and left the library, giving off a vibe of pure anger that threatened to swallow any one that came near him alive. _Idiot! You played right into her hand! You were a fool to hope!_ He returned home and flopped down in his chair before taking the chipped cup into his hands. "Bloody fool." Gold muttered to himself. "Bloody fool…"


	7. Chapter 7: Second Chance

**Author's Note: Huzzah! I finally got Chapter 7 up! Sorry for the wait. My poor laptop is in the computer hospital and other life type stuff on top of writer's block has kept me from my beloved story. With that being said, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my amazing friend SK. Her encouragment has helped so much with getting this out. I would also like to thank truelove333. It was your review that actually gave me the idea for the MadBeauty friendship. And last but not least I would like to thank BlueGleek911. Your review touched me deeply and I am honored to have your support. Thank you to all the rest that read and reviewed the last chapter, and now without further delay: Chapter 7! Enjoy and don't forget to review!**

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Chapter 7: Second Chance

Word got around quickly about how Belle told off Mr. Gold. No one, not even Mayor Mills threatened Gold with bodily harm before. The new librarian quickly became something of a local hero in that people were now more courteous to her than ever and would often do favors for her despite her protests. Belle honestly didn't see what the big deal was. Gold insulted her son so she did what any mother would do: she put the man in his place. She probably was channeling her Grandma Bellamy at that point, but Belle did not really mind doing so. No one called her son a brat. Even thinking about it made her beyond angry. Adam was an amazing kid that went through hell and could still smile at everyone he met. Part of her wanted to march right up to Mr. Gold and demand to know what the hell his problem was while the other part was perfectly content to stay away from him unless she absolutely had to. That night hadn't been a total disaster though; Belle met a fellow single parent and more importantly found a new ally in Storybrooke.

Jefferson and Belle started to be seen together more and more as spring turned to summer. With Adam and Grace out of school, they would often take turns babysitting or just go to the park together. Of course there were rumors about them becoming more than friends, but Jefferson ignored them and so did Belle. Rumors were part of the small town life and both of them accepted that. Slowly they started to open up to each other.

During their third outing to the park, Belle was sitting next to Jefferson on a bench and she smiled softly as she watched Grace play with Adam. "Grace is so pretty." She said; looking over at Jefferson.

Jefferson smiled back, but his eyes were sad and a little broken. "Thank you." He said softly. "She gets that from her mother."

Belle took in his gaze before looking back at their children, allowing him to have a moment to get himself together. Curiosity blossomed in her yet again, but as she was debating to ask about her, Jefferson began to speak again.

"Her name was Alice." He said quietly. "She… She died when Grace was only a baby." Jefferson's voice cracked and he had to clear his throat. "Losing her was like losing the best part of my soul. The only thing that's kept me going is Grace. I'd be completely mad without her."

Belle let out a slow breath before looking back at Jefferson. His dark eyes were bright with unshed tears and his hands were clenched tightly while they rested on his knees. She put a hand over his and squeezed softly. "I'm sorry, Jefferson. I know you must miss her."

Jefferson nearly flinched at the touch. It had been a long time since anyone but Grace willingly reached out to him. The whole town just left him be after his Alice died. They feared he had gone completely insane and Regina even tried to have Grace taken from him. So he put on as good of a mask as he could and fought like hell to keep Grace. She was the only good thing left in his life. "Every day." He finally croaked. "Gracie.. She's all that keeps me going most days, you know?"

The brunette gave a small yet haunted smile. "Yeah… I do." She said softly; her sky blue eyes going back to her son. "Adam was the only thing that got me through my marriage. Devin, his father… He was a bastard. But where I came from if a man got you pregnant then he married you." Belle shrugged a little and took her hand away from Jefferson's. "I think he resented me despite the fact he had a part in it too. The ink on our marriage license wasn't even dry when he started to yell at me and berate me for being stupid or something." Her jaw clenched and her nostrils flared as she relived those horrible moments. "Then when Adam was born, he took to hitting me. I wanted to leave, but I had nowhere to go and my parents… Well Mama died when I was little and my daddy didn't want to hear it. I guess I became a burden to him. He was almost glad when I told him I was pregnant." Belle took a second to get her composure back. It was the first time she really spoke about Devin in detail. She wasn't seeking pity, she just felt like someone should know the real reason she was in this town alone with her boy.

Jefferson put a hand over Belle's this time and watched her with intensely dark eyes. "He was an idiot." He said before she could go on. "Any man would be lucky to have a woman like you. You were right to leave him."

Belle laughed a little, but there was no joy to it. It was a pained sound that came out of reflex more than anything. "Yeah…I just wish I left him sooner." She whispered, looking to Adam again. "He hurt my little boy. That mark on his arm is a burn scar. Devin did that to him. He did that and that night I left. Packed up whatever I could get my hands on and just got in my truck and drove. I had no idea I'd end up here." It was a blessing to her that they were safe now, but part of her was always afraid that Devin could come back and hurt them. Belle tried not to think about the revolver in her nightstand or the awful sound it made that night.

The rumored to be mad man just shook his head and once again looked back at the children playing. "Looks like we're both kind of messed up then huh?" Jefferson asked; giving Belle a playful smirk.

"Yeah it does." Belle smirked back and they shared a small laugh before calling the kids in so they could get ice cream.

After that, a tradition was born. Every day at around noon, Belle, Jefferson, Grace, and Adam would go to the park. Sometimes Henry and another little girl named Paige would join them. Ice cream came later and then a trip to the library.

Since school was out, Belle had an idea to start a sort of reading program through the library to keep the kids interested in reading while they were out for the summer. Jefferson thought it was a brilliant idea and together they started to ask around and see if other parents would be interested in it too. They even got Mary Margret, Adam and Henry's teacher, involved in the process. Once Regina gave the okay to hold a reading program, it became a rare thing to see Belle without Jefferson or vice versa. Of course Belle still had to work to make rent, but during free time, they were constantly talking about this project or that project. Anything to keep the kids interested in the program they were trying to get started up. That first conversation was really as personal as things got between them, but that didn't mean the whole town didn't think there was something more between them.

Gold was certainly not above these suspicions. Sure he heard something about Belle wanting to start up a summer reading program, but he hardly saw the reason for Jefferson to be so involved. Well that wasn't entirely true. Belle was running things, why wouldn't Jefferson want to be involved? She was smart and unbelievably gorgeous and of course fierce. No one could say that Belle didn't have a backbone about her. It had been weeks since their little confrontation and Gold had been wanting to apologize, but seeing Belle so cozy with Jefferson just made him sick. There was a part of him saying that he had no right to be angry, that it was his fault she was with the mad man, but there was another side that just wanted to be with Belle no matter what. She was the one person that saw right through his armor, right through the meanness that he showed everyone so he could stay protected. Why should he have to watch while she was kind to another messed up soul? Every time Gold saw Belle and Jefferson together it was like an axe being driven into what was left of his heart.

For the first time in quite awhile, Gold dreaded making his monthly rounds to collect rent. Each step brought him closer to Belle's library and he was sure that Jefferson would be there. His jaw clenched and his mood worsened as the day went on. People normally gave him a wide berth, but today they tripped over themselves in an effort to get away from him. No one could remember the last time he was this angry. There was only one person that had an idea of what put the pawn broker in such a mood and it made her smirk. Regina always considered Gold a rival of hers so the fact he was miserable made her oh so happy. She gave an evil giggle as he finally made his way to the library.

Belle jumped and put a hand over her chest as Gold barged in. She gave him a hard look, and was honestly surprised by the malice she saw in his face. "Good afternoon to you too, Mr. Gold." She said stiffly. What the hell was his problem? "You seem to be doing well." The sarcasm was probably unnecessary, but she didn't really care at this point. He made it more than clear that he didn't want anything to do with her as far as Belle could see. She was done being concerned about his feelings. Gold didn't seem to care about hers.

Mr. Gold narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw harder if possible. "Just give me what's owed and I'll be on my way." He growled. The Scottish brogue was so thick that it was hard to understand him at first. "I haven't the time for chit chat."

"Fine." Belle said simply, pulling out two envelopes from under the counter. "Here. Come and get what's owed you." There was a challenge in her tone and on her face. Belle was not going to tolerate being disrespected by any one anymore. She wasn't his servant and she wasn't going to let him treat her like one. The librarian was definitely done with that life.

The Scotsman let out a breath and hoped that his most menacing stare would convince her to just give him the money like he ordered, but the feisty young woman did not even falter. Damn she was tough. He appreciated it after the day he had. Wait. No! No he was supposed to be angry at her not admire her courage! Once again he gritted his teeth and put on his cold hard mask. Time to change tactics. "So." He ground out. "Where's the mad man?"

"Standing right in front of me." Belle countered, knowing full well who he was talking about. Jefferson took the kids to see a movie since Belle was working on things for the library and had to be around to give Gold the rent money. Besides, Gold walked right into that one.

Something like amusement flashed in Gold's dark brown eyes and he smirked despite himself. "Always have something clever to say don't you?"

Belle smirked and shrugged. "Most days I do. Daddy always told me I had a smart mouth." Of course he did not mean it as a compliment. She was forever getting in trouble for her sharp tongue. Being away from Devin for almost a month served to bring it back with a vengeance.

"Hm." Was all Gold said about that. He looked around before slowly making his way to the counter. "Rumor has it you two are getting quite cozy. Your boy seems to like him."

"Adam likes any one that doesn't try to hurt him or me." Belle said simply, keeping her eyes on him. His body language was hesitant, like he had something weighing on his mind. The hard edge he came in with was fighting to hold on, but it seemed to be losing. "I never figured you for the type to care about town gossip."

"I don't!" Mr. Gold protested perhaps a little too quickly. He realized his error and cleared his throat to recover. "I mean…It's hardly my affair what you do with Jefferson." He was trying to sound detached, but a hint of jealousy came through in his tone. Gold hoped that she didn't hear it, but of course she did.

Belle just laughed a little and shook her head some. "While that is true, I don't _do_ anything with Jefferson so there's nothing to really worry about." The relief was blatant in his face which just served to tickle Belle. For someone that worked so hard to stay closed off from her, it was easy for her to talk to him and get him to act human.

The Scotsman had to fight to stay on his feet. It was a simple enough sentence but he read the meaning behind it. Belle was not with Jefferson, and she didn't appear to want to be with him either. He would be curious as to why later. Now was the time for relief because he still had some semblance of a chance to make things right with her. Gold took a breath and straightened, resting both hands on top of his cane while he watched her. His eyes looked a little brighter as that pesky hope he tried to keep buried deep past his chest came to the surface. "Well then… I suppose that means it wouldn't be out of line to invite you to dinner."

Shock ran through Belle. That was a bit of a jump even for him. "Dinner?" She asked rather dumbly. She could not even begin to fathom why he asked her out. He was older than her by quite a bit. There was no way he could possibly find her interesting. Plus she had a kid! There was no way he was interested in playing Daddy. He must be going through some sort of midlife crisis.

Gold smirked. "Yes. Dinner. I do eat contrary to Miss Lucas' insistence that I don't. I am assuming you eat as well." The sarcasm masked the fear that was growing in his stomach. He moved too soon. His relief over her not being interested in Jefferson made him over eager and now he frightened her off. _Nice going, Gold. Really. Brilliant._ He scolded himself.

"I-I do, but I am a little surprised that you would invite me to have dinner with you." Belle said honestly. "I mean…I would be very boring dinner company."

It was Gold's turned to be shocked. She was worried about boring him? Wow this girl had everything backwards. "And why would you say that, dearie?" he asked, tilting his head casually. "I'm sure we could find something to talk about if you did decide to accept my invitation."

A blush crept up on Belle's cheeks which made her heart flutter. She might have been confident when it came to taking care of her kid and being a good mom, but when it came to men complimenting her and actually taking an interest in what she had to say; it really threw her off balance. Belle gave a nervous laugh and shrugged, trying to get herself back together. "I'm afraid I'm a bit out of practice when it comes to dinner conversation." She could handle tea time because it was expected for her to talk then. An actual dinner date just brought back images of Devin berating her subpar cooking and telling her how worthless she was. It was just safer to stay quiet.

Gold had a sudden rush of protective anger come over him when he saw the ghosts behind her eyes. He wanted to throttle the man that hurt her within an inch of his life. His composure remained intact this time though and he gave a small smile. "Well it may be a little soon for dinner anyway." He acknowledged. "How about tea? We could have it here if that would make you more comfortable."

Belle relaxed and laughed a little. "We had tea here last time." She said, grateful that he decided to change his mind. She hadn't even had dinner with Jefferson unless it was at the diner with the kids. "How about your shop?" She knew he had a back room, and since Belle hadn't really invited him into the apartment upstairs, she figured it would be a bit presumptuous to assume he would willingly let her into his home.

"That sounds lovely. Would tomorrow work for you, Miss Hayes?" Mr. Gold asked, taking on a formal tone just to make her smile and laugh again. It was like he was starting to live for that sound.

Belle giggled again, unable to help it. Her tone was formal as well when she answered. "It would indeed, sir." She said, inclining her head to him. "Shall I bring some cookies?"

Gold chuckled, enjoying their game now. "That would be delightful. And if you could bring your grandmother's tea that would be splendid." It had done wonders for his leg and the day after rent collecting was always painful.

She nodded. "I can do that." Belle noticed that Gold was right in front of the counter now with his hand on the envelopes. Their eyes met and Belle was able to see the man that he tried to keep hidden away from everyone.

"Wonderful." Gold said softly. He cleared his throat quietly before pocketing the money. "I would also like to apologize for my deplorable behavior at your gathering. It was rude and unforgiveable. I know your Adam is a good child. I should not have said what I did. Though I do hope I may make it up to you."

Belle smiled and nodded a little. "The apology is more than enough." She said honestly. It was more than she ever expected. Apologies did not exist in her world, so the fact he felt remorse for calling her son a brat already put him miles ahead of Devin. "I accept it and I look forward to having tea tomorrow, Mr. Gold."

The Scotsman gave a soft smirk and lowered his eyes for a moment before nodding. "As do I, Miss Hayes. As do I. Two o'clock at my shop then?" He asked, making eye contact with her again. Gold felt like he could drown in those blue eyes.

"Two o'clock at your shop." She confirmed before giggling again and blushing. He was looking at her so intensely. She didn't know how to handle it.

Mr. Gold chuckled, finding that her giggle was rather infectious. "Until then…" He nodded and turned to leave the library. Even the pain in his leg was nullified by the fact he was given a second chance with this rare beauty. This time he would be brave. Gold knew the odds of getting another chance were slim if he messed this up. Even with that burden weighing on him he felt light. She forgave him. That was something his wife never did. Maybe things would work out better this time.


	8. Chapter 8: Tea Time

**Author's Note: As always thank you to the lovely people that take the time to read and review my work! In case you don't already know, I own nothing of this wonderful series. The only characters that are mine are Adam and Devin. So without further ado: Tea Time!**

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Chapter 8: Tea Time

"HE DID WHAT!?" Ruby shrieked. "ARE YOU SERIOUS!?" The whole diner was looking at her now, but she hardly cared. Ruby was sort of used to drawing attention to herself by now. "Tell me you're joking!"

Belle's face was about the shade of Ruby's hair by that point and she looked ready to strangle her so called friend. "I'm not joking." She hissed through her clenched jaw. "Now pipe down or I'm going to lay you out right here in front of God and everybody." Belle's drawl probably would have intimidated anyone else, but Ruby just laughed.

"Oh you wouldn't hit me." Ruby said lightly. "You love me too much."

The librarian snorted some and waited for everyone to quit looking at them before she looked back at her friend. "So you say." She said simply. "Anyway, Mr. Gold apologized and then invited me to tea this afternoon. So I need you to watch Adam for a bit."

Ruby shook her head, still not really able to believe what was going on. "I love watching Adam you know that, but still. This is weird even for you. I mean…it's _Gold_. I didn't know you went for older men."

Belle rolled her eyes some. "I'm not going to do anything other than drink tea okay? It's hardly my fault that the whole town thinks he's some sort of monster."

"He is a monster! Gold is mean and rude and absolutely bloodthirsty. I swear he uses the blood of children to sweeten his tea." Ruby said, just being dramatic at this point.

"Actually he takes three sugars and a bit of cream." Belle retorted, rolling her eyes yet again. "Honestly, you people are crazy."

Ruby smirked. "You Southerners are just too nice." She teased good-naturedly. "Always seeing the good when sometimes it just isn't there."

Belle snorted some and stood up to go since she was clearly getting nowhere with this conversation. "Are you going to watch Adam for me or not?"

"I already said yes!" Ruby said lightly. A weird look came over her face before she leaned close to Belle, looking serious for once. "But, uhm, hey… What about Jefferson? I mean… Don't you two have a thing going or something?"

Belle let out a breath before she pushed the hair out of her face and sat back down, fixing Ruby with a stare. "No. There's nothing going on between Jefferson and I. I'll even tell you why; he's not over his wife yet. Not even close."

"How do you know?" Ruby asked. "Did he tell you that?"

"Yes he did. Very clearly in fact." Belle leaned in for an innocent hug after dropping Grace off at his house and he almost cried. She explained that she was just trying to be friendly since people hugged goodbye where she was from. That relaxed him some, but then Jefferson felt bad for freaking out on her. He explained that he was still very much in love with Alice and couldn't let her go even after five years. Belle assured him that she understood and was not upset in the least, but there was no reason for Ruby to know that. All she needed to know was that no one was getting hurt because of this little… whatever it was.

Ruby eyed Belle for a moment longer before she nodded and stretched out some. "Alright, well then I guess it's okay. If he makes a move just grab his cane and smack him with it."

Belle laughed some and got up again. "Alright, Mama Ruby, I'll do that. Adam will be over after he wakes up from his nap." Adam was an early riser so by 11 he was cranky. Since he was asleep, Belle snuck out for a second to get lunch and ask Ruby to watch him. Jefferson designated Sundays as daddy-daughter days so he couldn't watch Adam and Regina had been acting strange towards her lately so she didn't want to ask her either. Belle waved goodbye to Ruby before she took lunch back to the apartment. While Adam was sleeping, she decided to get some cookies ready and she mixed the herbs together for tea.

Adam woke up about half an hour later and they had lunch together. He insisted on bringing some cookies with him to Ruby's and since he had been good that day, Belle allowed it. Adam got some of his favorite books together and even a few movies. His mom said he wouldn't need all of that stuff, but he said he might. Belle just laughed softly and shook her head while putting the cookies in a tin container. She put the tea in a different box and then put everything in a bag before going downstairs with Adam and taking him to Ruby's place.

Gold was in the back room getting ready for Belle to get there. He had the tea set out and a kettle boiling on a hot plate. The table was set with small plates and fine linen napkins. It may have been a bit fancy for a simple tea, but Gold wasn't really thinking about that. In truth, he was nervous. This was the first time in over two decades that he asked a woman out on what could be considered a date. As a younger man, he was a little awkward with women. Joining the military got him noticed and it was part of what attracted his first wife to him, but even that didn't last long. "Come on, man, get yourself together." Gold muttered as he smoothed his hair back. "It's hardly the first time you've had tea with the woman." He shook his head some and let out a breath before freezing at the sound of the chiming of the bell at the front door.

"Mr. Gold?" Belle called out. She sounded uncertain while she looked around for him. At first she was worried that he forgot, or decided that he wasn't interested in her anymore. It wouldn't be the first time that a man decided she wasn't worth anything. "You here?" Slowly she walked towards the back room, feeling more and more uneasy as she moved further into the shop. For some reason the thought of Mr. Gold not wanting to spend any time with her hurt. Normally she didn't care if someone had something better to do, but this was different somehow. There was something about this man that drew her in and made her want to be around him despite his previous actions.

Gold took a breath to steady himself before stepping out from the back and giving a thin, polite smile. "Miss Hayes, my apologies. I was just getting things ready." He motioned to the back room and held open the curtain for her. "Right this way."

Belle let out a breath she didn't really know she was holding and smiled some. "Getting things ready huh?" she asked, walking through the curtained doorway. She took in the simple linen table cloth that was some color between white and tan, the porcelain tea set that used to occupy one of the tables at the front of the store, the saucers that matched the tea set and the napkins that matched the table cloth. "Wow. This is all really nice." She said, looking back at Mr. Gold.

He was now standing beside the chair he intended to have Belle sit in. It was already pulled out and Gold was now standing at what appeared to be parade rest with both hands resting on his cane. "I'm glad you like it." Mr. Gold said quietly. He was trying to keep his air of control about him, but that was hard to do while watching Belle. She looked especially lovely today with her chestnut hair pulled into a braid and the sky blue sundress that really brought out her eyes. "Please have a seat, Miss Hayes." He said, motioning to the chair.

Belle smiled and set the cookies on the table before taking her seat. Once she was settled, Gold put the now boiling water to the tea pot along with the tea. He finally sat down and gave the younger woman another small smile before clearing his throat a little. "How has your day been, Miss Hayes?" He asked, not really knowing how else to start the conversation.

"It has been going rather well." She said, smiling easily and relaxing back in her chair. "Though I will admit I was a little nervous about coming here."

Gold smirked a little. "Suddenly worried about your reputation now?" He asked, only partially joking. Mentally he braced himself for that being the truth, but he was shocked at the rather stern look he received from the young woman.

"Hardly." Belle said drily. "I was more worried about you being bored to tears by a non-educated farmer's daughter." Her tone was pretty self deprecating and she dropped her eyes to her hands for a moment before she met his dark brown eyes with her bright blue ones. "I don't regret my decision to raise my son, mind you, I just don't think we'd have much to talk about as far as some things go."

The Scotsman shrugged and gave a small chuckle. "Oh I don't know about all that, dearie." He said simply. "And there's nothing wrong with being the child of a farmer. I am one myself."

Belle blinked at that and looked the older man over. He didn't look like the 'raised on a farm' type. In fact he looked like he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. The fact that he worked his way up to be where he was made her see him a lot differently. "You were raised on a farm? What kind?"

"Sheep farm out in the middle of the Highlands." Mr. Gold said as he checked the tea. He decided that it was done steeping and poured Belle a cup before pouring one for himself. "It was me and my Da mostly; don't much remember my mother."

Instantly Belle felt more of a connection with this man. "My mother died when I was small. I don't really remember her either." There was no pity in her tone for herself or for him, just empathy. It was weird to think that she had something in common with this well dressed older man, but it was comforting too. "Were you close with your father then?"

Gold nodded. "Fairly close, aye, but he died when I was around sixteen so I had to take over the farm all by myself. Guess you could say that's when I started learning how to make deals and make sure people honored their end of them."

Belle nodded and put cream and sugar into her tea while she thought for a moment. "So why did you come to the States? Better opportunities or something?"

The Scotsman was silent for a moment before he shrugged and nodded. "Good a reason as any I guess. The sheep farm was dying and I had a hard time holding it up on my own after I got out of the Army."

"What about your son? You mentioned a son once." Belle asked. She instantly regretted it though once she saw the pain flicker across his face. "I'm sorry." She said. "I wasn't meaning to pry."

Gold shook his head some and cleared his throat a moment before taking a sip of his tea. He hadn't talked about Brandon in so long. If he was going to be honest with himself he forced himself to forget about the boy so the pain would stop. Regina's son brought those memories back though, and with Adam coming into town and acting almost exactly like his Brandon; the boy was never out of his thoughts for longer than an hour. "My son… He died when he was around Adam's age. A car accident. His mother died with him." He said quietly. Belle almost couldn't make out his words because of how thick his accent had become in his grief. Self loathing was firmly etched on his face and he gripped his tea cup firmly. "That was really why I came here. There was nothing there for me to stay for."

Belle's heart broke for the older man, so much so that she reached over to touch his hand softly. "It wasn't your fault." She said quietly. "You said it yourself. It was an accident."

Mr. Gold flinched at her touch and pulled away before he could really stop himself. He didn't deserve the comfort. His son was dead because of him. "They wouldn't have even been on the road that day if I were a better man, dearie." His voice was dark now, menacing even. "I wasn't good enough for her, so she took our son and left. And now they're both dead. I keep thinking I should have gone after them. Maybe…Maybe I could have at least saved Bae…" Gold whispered his son's name like a prayer, full of reverence and longing. He missed his boy so much.

The young librarian was almost in tears at the pain in the older man's voice. Maybe it was because she was a mother that was also unable to protect her son. The only difference was that her boy was still alive. She really had no idea what she would have done if Devin killed him that day instead of burning his arm. Belle took a breath and looked down at her tea to get herself together and also allow Gold a moment to wipe away the tears he didn't know she saw. "His name was Bae?" She finally asked softly.

Gold cleared his throat again and let out a breath. "Brandon actually." He said quietly. "When he was just learning how to talk, he couldn't say his name right so he would just call himself Bae. I liked it so I just let him keep the nickname. Milah hated it."

Belle tilted her head ever so slightly, but she did not have a chance to ask the obvious question. Gold knew what she was going to ask.

"Milah was my wife. She hated a lot of things I did." Gold said quietly, his hand moving to his knee almost reflexively. "Hated the fact I came home wounded the most I think." He gave a humorless smirk. "She told me one time that she wished I had just died in the field. Would have made things easier on her. Called me a coward for doing what I had to in order to come home alive to her and our boy. Maybe she was right."

Fire blazed in Belle's eyes and she reached for Gold's hand again, this time not letting him pull away. "No she's not." She said firmly, squeezing his hand for emphasis. "She wasn't right about you. There's no shame in wanting to get home alive. You bled for your country. There's a lot of honor in that." Belle spoke with all the passion of a true believer.

Gold was taken aback by the fervor in her voice and was actually speechless for a moment. "I ran away." He said quietly. "I hid until some corpsman found me and brought me back to camp. I was a coward."

"You had a son to get home to. I know men that did worse things in combat for lesser reasons than that."

Again, Gold couldn't really respond to that. The sincerity in her voice was unmistakable. "You must have known your fair share of soldiers." Gold said quietly. "That's the only reason you'd be so ready to defend one. Even an old washed up cowardly one like me."

Belle blushed a little and shrugged some, relaxing her hand on his, but not pulling away. "I had an older brother. He enlisted as soon as he was old enough and they sent him to combat. He died on his second tour. His convoy was hit by an IED. He was only nineteen." She looked at Gold, pinning him with her stare almost. "You had the guts to sign up and fight. You're not a coward."

For so long he believed Milah when she said he was a coward. He believed her when she said that he should have died in combat. Gold blamed himself and his cowardice for Milah leaving with his Bae. Having this woman touch his hand and tell him that he was brave brought up feelings that Gold had not felt in so long. For the first time in nearly twenty years, he had some self worth. Gold's hand turned and he took Belle's hand, squeezing it softly. "I don't know why you believe that about me." He said quietly. "But thank you for it." This young librarian made him want to be a better man. She made him want to be the man she seemed to see behind all of the gruff responses and meanness that he fought hard to show everyone.

Belle smiled softly and rubbed his hand softly with her thumb. "I believe it because it's true, Mr. Gold." She said softly. "There's no way you could be after surviving a battle and the death of your son. I… I don't think I would be able to keep going if I lost Adam."

Gold closed his eyes some, soaking in the feeling of her rubbing his skin. He could not remember the last time he felt the soft touch of a woman. Milah had been cruel to him, but he thought he loved her. Belle was nothing like his first wife. She was so polar opposite that it was a little scary, but Gold liked it. He craved it. "Rodric." He said without thinking. Gold opened his eyes and met Belle's confused gaze with a steady, trusting gaze of his own. "My name is Rodric."

"Rodric, huh?" Belle asked, smiling even more and looking back into his deep brown eyes. They were so soft now, not like they were when he was around other people. He was being open with her. Trusting her. She felt so honored, and yet a little frightened. What if she let him down in some way? Belle looked down at their hands for a second, sort of amazed that neither one of them pulled away yet. In a way the contact was so comforting. It meant that despite their differences, at their core they were just two damaged people that needed someone to steady them. "My given name is Margret." She said quietly.

It was Gold's turn to look confused and it was like the mood was instantly lifted. "Margret?" he asked incredulously. "You don't look like a Margret at all."

Belle giggled some and nodded. "Yeah I know. That's why I go by Belle."

"It does suit you a lot better." Rodric said, smiling a little more at her. He used his other hand to hold his tea cup so he would not have to break contact with Belle. It was then that Belle noticed something interesting about the cup he was using.

"Be careful now. Don't want you to cut yourself on that cup." She teased. "I figured you'd get rid of that thing since I broke it." Part of herself warmed up though even as the other part wondered why on earth he kept that chipped cup. It was broken and he wouldn't get any money out of it in that shape.

Rodric shook his head and turned the cup so he could look at the chip. "Why? It's still perfectly functioning. Just a little damaged."

Belle just smirked some and looked down at a faint scar on her arm. She had tons of scars on her from her days with Devin. Most of the time she ignored them, but with Gold watching her, she suddenly became aware of every last one of them. "You must have a thing for damaged goods." She said in a self deprecating way.

Gold followed her gaze to the scar on her arm and then he glanced at the one on her collarbone before studying her face. She didn't appear to have any there, but he was almost positive that she had more elsewhere. Why else would she consider herself to be damaged? "Sometimes it's the imperfections that give things their character." He said simply. "Take this cup for instance. I can guarantee you that there's not another cup like this in the entire world." Gold held up the cup for her to examine. He smirked some. "I like rare things. Their scarcity gives them their value." Gently, Gold set the cup down and shrugged. "It's the same with people really. Sadly most try to emulate whatever is popular so there's not many people of value in this world anymore."

The librarian listened to him and thought she understood what he was trying to say. "So as long as imperfections build character and make something unique they don't matter?"

"Exactly." Gold said easily, moving his fingers over Belle's soft skin for a moment before stopping himself. He shouldn't even be holding her hand. There was such an age gap between them, but she didn't seem to notice or care. "So since I'm not allowed to think I'm cowardly, you're not allowed to think of yourself as damaged." Gold smirked, something playful coming into his eyes. "Deal?"

Belle blinked and then laughed a little. "Yeah, alright." She said. "Deal."

"I'll hold you to that, dearie." He said quietly, but seriously. "No one breaks a deal with me." Normally that sentence was said with so much malice that grown men would nearly cry. Now it was just a light quip that made Belle smile and laugh softly.

"And I'll hold you to your end." Belle said, squeezing his hand for a moment before they lapsed into a rather comfortable silence. She never let go of his hand and he never let go of hers either. Something changed in both of them that day and neither one of them really knew what to do about it. Belle would probably take it slow, if nothing else because she had a son to think about. Gold would most likely follow her lead. He was still a gentleman after all and he would not push her into anything that she didn't want. Rodric did not want to risk chasing her away like he chased away Milah.

When the cookies were eaten and the tea was gone, Belle gathered up the dishes she brought with her and moved to the front of the store so she could leave. It was hard to believe that it was almost dinner time and most of the time they were sitting together was spent in a lovely silence. Belle liked that a lot. There was no yelling and no obnoxious husband talking about his stupid hunting. Gold was a quiet intellectual man, probably like some of the guys she would have met had she actually gone to college.

"I'd like to apologize again for how I acted in the library that day. I had no call to say what I did." He said before Belle really had a chance to say anything as far as good bye. Gold spent most of the time they were sitting together thinking of how to explain what happened. "I was just caught up in my own foolishness."

Belle blinked and lifted her head to look up at him. "What do you mean?" she asked. "I thought I already forgave you for that."

Rodric smiled some. "You did, but I feel like you deserve some sort of explanation." He took a breath to gather his thoughts. "The mayor and I have a sort of rivalry going. Regina likes to be Queen of the castle and I don't bow every time she walks into a room. Naturally that creates problems and I fear that you were inadvertently dragged into a little spat of ours." It was inadvertent on his part anyway, that much was clear by his tone.

The young woman just looked confused for a second before she smirked and rolled her eyes. "I thought she was one of those women, but I couldn't really tell after awhile." She said and leaned against Gold's counter. "I got the vibe that she would do whatever she had to in order to win when I came into town. After awhile though I figured I was just imagining that."

"I assure you, dearie, that you were not. The mayor can be pretty vile at times and it is almost guaranteed that if you align yourself with me that you will become a target of hers." There was genuine concern for her in Gold's voice and eyes. He didn't want Belle to be hurt because of him.

Belle just smirked and put a hand on his arm. "Now, Mr. Gold, I have dealt with women like her my whole life." She said, sounding like Miss Scarlet herself. "Don't worry about little ole me. I can take care of myself."

Rodric Gold couldn't help but chuckle a little at the young southern Belle. She was so full of life and sure of herself even if it was only a front most of the time. "Of that I have no doubt." He said softly.

Belle giggled before leaning up to kiss his cheek. She danced towards the door, not giving him much chance to react negatively or positively for that matter. "Good day, Rodric." She said quietly before exiting the pawn shop.

Gold was stunned speechless until well after she was gone. "Good day… Margret." He whispered.

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**P.S. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Things are going to fast forward a bit next chapter and then some stuff is going to go down! Get excited! I am! :)  
**


	9. Chapter 9: Seasons Change Feelings Grow

**Author's Note: This chapter is filled with lovely fluffy moments as well as some legit moments. I hope you enjoy all the Rumbelle!**

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Chapter 9: Seasons Change; Feelings Grow

Things got very interesting for Belle after having tea with Gold that second time. People that wouldn't give her a second glance any other day were suddenly staring at her like she was some sort of circus freak. Adam picked up on it too and asked about it, but Belle didn't have an answer. She was sort of confused herself. Regina even came by to try and get a rise out of her. "Belle, dear, you wouldn't believe the rumors that are going around!" The mayor exclaimed one day in the library. "Surly they can't be true."

For once, being friends with the town gossip had its perks. Ruby finally spilled and told her that people thought she was sleeping with Gold. Belle had been absolutely furious, but she forced herself to remain calm. She was a grown woman and what she did was none of their business. The librarian just arched an eyebrow at the other woman and snorted some. "I don't see how it's any of your business one way or the other, Madam Mayor." She said coolly. "But for the record, no they're not true."

Regina's eyes went a little cold and her stance became slightly defensive. She was used to people being fooled by her, or at the very least being afraid of her. The fact the librarian was neither made her irritated. Regina already had to contend with Gold; she didn't want to have to deal with this woman either. "I was just concerned, Belle. You are a rather important member of this town now. I would hate for your reputation to take a hit because you are associating with people you shouldn't be."

Belle just laughed some and shook her head, leaning against the counter. "It seems to me like the only person in this town that _isn't_ worried about my reputation is _me_." She pointed out. "How about we do this: you let me worry about me and mine, and you worry about you and yours. I have no desire to get in the middle of anything that doesn't directly concern me or my son. Do we understand each other?"

Again, Regina's eyes flashed and she clenched her jaw some before giving Belle a tight lipped smile. "Oh we understand each other perfectly, Miss Hayes."

Soon after that little chat, the stipend for the library was cut off. Belle was livid, but Regina just cited budget cuts and dismissed Belle like she was a particularly irritating servant. Determined to make ends meet on her own, Belle started to take more shifts at the diner and even asked Mr. Gold if she could work at his shop on the weekends. Gold was the only one in town that could really spare the money she would need to keep everything afloat in her life. It didn't take long for Gold to figure out what was really going on though.

"You could have just told me you know." Rodric said while watching Belle sweep up the shop. It was a Saturday about two weeks after the stipend was cut off.

Belle didn't even pause. "What are you talking about?" she asked absentmindedly. Her mind was going in so many different directions that she was doing good to actually listen to what he was saying.

Gold just snorted some and went back to polishing a piece of silverware. "Regina being Regina." He clarified. "You could have told me she cut off the library stipend. That puts her in violation of the contract she signed. Technically, you're not responsible for a dime."

A sigh escaped Belle's lips as she stopped sweeping and looked over at Gold. "I know that, but still it pisses me off. I've dealt with women like her my whole life! Always in my business telling me what I should be doing or who I should be with. What I should be doing to keep my man happy, or saying that I was just over exaggerating despite the bruises and cuts." A bitterness crept into her voice that Rodric never heard before. He didn't like the haunted look in her eyes either so he stepped around the counter to stand in front of her.

"It's alright, dearie." Gold said quietly, reaching out to touch her shoulder gently. "There are people like her all over the world."

Belle almost flinched at the touch of his hand, but she forced herself to relax. It was just Rodric. He wasn't Devin. He wouldn't hurt her. "I know. I was just hoping to avoid those types of people for a while longer." She looked up at him before she forced a smile and put her hand lightly on his arm. "I'll be okay. Everything is just piling on."

Rodric pulled her into a gentle hug and smiled some. "Well don't kill yourself working for the library stipend. I'll get that out of Regina in due time. Just take off and enjoy the day with your boy alright?"

The overworked mother relaxed for the first time in what felt like weeks. She buried her face into Rodric's chest without really even thinking about it and breathed in his scent. He smelled like the shop, antique and slightly musty, but there was a hint of cologne that made Belle think of the pine trees back home. Everything just sort of melted away in his arms, but him clearing his throat brought her back to reality with surprising force. She all but jumped away from him and her face went a rather dark shade of red. "Sorry." Belle said quickly. "I just… Well it's been a rough couple of weeks and… yeah…" She trailed off awkwardly, suddenly feeling like a silly teenage girl.

Gold just chuckled some and nodded. "I understand." He said softly. And he did too. Sometimes human contact was required to get through the day. Rodric had forgotten that until Belle held his hand almost three weeks ago. Since then he did everything he could to steal small touches from her, be it a brush of the hand or a slight nudge with an arm. He would stop by the library for tea, or Belle would bring Adam by the pawnshop to let him look at old toys. One day they even went on a picnic in the park, just the three of them. Adam loved it and he asked all kinds of questions about Scotland and sheep farming. The boy was curious by nature just like his mother. Rodric found himself growing rather fond of the child.

And so summer passed. There were more picnics and tea times, even a dinner at Belle's apartment. The older lawyer and the single mother were definitely becoming more than friends. The oncoming fall only served to strengthen that connection. The cold and wet made it hard for Gold to walk so he would come over to the library nearly every day for some of Belle's grandmother's tea, and if the day was particularly bad, she would bring it over to him. Adam asked about the injury one day and was content with the answer he got. He thought Mr. Gold was brave for fighting in a war and even told him so.

The first snow fall was an enchanting time for everyone in the town, but more so for Belle and Adam. "You guys have seriously never seen snow before!?" Ruby squeaked. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"I've seen snow, but I was little and we went to the mountains for a vacation." Belle explained, looking around with the same look of wonder that Adam had on his face. "Even then it wasn't this much."

"Mama, can we build a snowman!?" Adam asked, bouncing like a hyped up Yorkshire Terrier. "Please!? We can build one for Mr. Gold!" Rodric had taken to his house for the winter. It was something that was normal according to Ruby, but Belle found it a little sad. He said it was because of his leg, but Belle didn't buy that completely.

Belle smiled down at her son and pulled his scarf a little tighter around him so he would stay warm. "You know what? I think that's a great idea." She said lightly. "Wanna help, Ruby?" she asked.

Ruby snorted. "No thanks. You two have fun, I'll be waiting in the warmth with hot chocolate."

"Party pooper!" Adam called out lightly. "Come on, Mama!" He started for Mr. Gold's house, laughing more and more as the snow continued to fall. Belle was almost crying by the time they got to the pink Victorian style mini mansion. The last time she saw Adam this happy was when he was only a baby and didn't know a thing about the world. It was like the snow finally allowed him to be the kid he should have been all along. Belle quickly got herself together and started to help her son build the snow man. They both agreed that it would be best to show Mr. Gold after it was done, that way it would be a surprise. Of course the first one was so much fun to build that Adam insisted they make a second and then a third. The tallest one ended up having a branch cane, the second tallest one wore Belle's bright blue scarf and the shortest one earned Adam's hat.

Adam dashed to the door and knocked on it, leaving Belle to come up the steps of the porch, still brushing the snow out of her hair.

Gold grumbled at the disturbance and slowly made his way downstairs. "This had better be…" He started out growling, but then he blinked at Adam and Belle as they stood on his porch. "Well.. Hello." Rodric finished. He went from irritated to confused in less than half a second. "What are you two doing here?"

"It's snowing!" Adam said brightly. "Me and mama made you snowmen! See look! It's you and me and Mama."

Belle just smiled softly at her son, trying to keep from crying again. God her kid looked so happy. She would give anything in the world for him to be like this all year long.

Gold stepped onto the porch and his face instantly went blank to hide the shock he was feeling. It was nothing personal. After years of hiding his emotions it was just reflex. "They're… They're lovely." Rodric said quietly.

Adam's smile dropped a little and his eyes flickered to his mother before he looked back at Mr. Gold. He was kind of hoping for a different response. "You like them right?" He asked; his voice wavering some.

Rodric blinked and quickly gave the boy a small smile. "Of course I do." He said. "It's just been a long time since I've seen snowmen as well built as those. You're quite the natural, lad."

The smile returned brighter than before and Adam dashed off the porch to stand by the snowmen. "So you like them then!?" He called out while he spun around in the snow.

"Aye, that I do." Rodric called out to him, moving so he was standing closer to Belle. The boy playing in the snow brought back so many memories of his own childhood and the brief joy his own son brought him. It was a bit much to take. "Perhaps you'd like to come in for some tea since you're already here." Gold said to Belle, while watching Adam spin.

Belle smiled softly at him and shrugged some. "Yeah, I'd like that." She said. "But first…" The woman grinned and nudged him before skipping off the porch and running over to grab her son, picking him up and spinning him around quickly.

Adam squealed in laughter and Belle joined him before they both fell into the snow, dissolving into a massive fit of giggles. Gold watched them play in the snow while long dead emotions bubbled to the surface. Well they weren't that long dead; he just hated it when they came up. Bae loved the snow. He would always beg Rodric to play with him and no matter how badly his knee was hurting Gold would play with his son. Milah complained constantly when winter hit and she would never have played in the snow with their boy. Watching Belle with Adam made him wish Bae had a mother like her. Watching Belle with Adam made him wish a lot of things. Rodric looked down and was turning to go back inside when something hit him in the shoulder. He smirked as snow exploded around him before he turned back, seeing a rather impish grin on the little boy's face. "Play with us!" Adam squeaked. "Please!"

Gold stared at Adam and had a flash of Bae's smiling face asking the same question. He was moving towards the yard before he could even speak. "Maybe for a bit." He said, making his way carefully down the steps. "I'm old, lad, remember that."

"You're not old!" Adam said brightly, tossing a snowball at Belle this time, laughing.

Belle giggled and tossed a snowball back at her son before smiling and throwing one at Gold. "Not that old anyway." She teased.

Rodric snorted and threw a snowball, hitting Belle in the face with it. "Guess you're right. My aim is still pretty good."

Adam laughed as his mother sputtered and glared at Gold and before long, the snowball fight was on. Gold could still move despite his leg, but Belle and Adam had youth and unhindered legs on their side. By the time it was dark, Rodric's leg was screaming at him and he had to lean on Belle and his cane to get inside. Adam opened the door to the house and went to the kitchen. "Where's your kettle, Mr. Gold?"

Rodric followed the boy with his gaze and smiled a little as Belle helped him sit on the couch. "On the stove."

Adam went quiet, staring at the stove for a moment before fighting back a shiver and getting a chair. The stove wasn't on. It couldn't hurt him. He was going to be brave like his mom. "I've got it."

Belle made sure Gold was settled on the couch before going to help Adam put water in the kettle. "I'm proud of you, kid." She said softly. This was the first time he ever willingly went near a stove in months.

"I have to be brave." Adam said as if it were an obvious thing.

"Yeah? Why's that?" Belle asked him.

The little boy just smiled some and shrugged. "Because you are. I want to be brave like you and Mr. Gold."

Rodric's eyes widened a fraction as his head snapped towards the kitchen. He couldn't have possibly heard that correctly. Why in the hell would that sweet kid want to be anything like him? It shocked him, and humbled him greatly. Yeah, he had the money and the house, the fear and the respect, but to be admired by a child was something that Gold was deprived of until that moment.

Belle smiled and kissed the top of Adam's head. "I love you, baby." She whispered softly.

"Love you too, Mama." Adam said before hopping off the stool and going into the living room to keep Mr. Gold company. The stove was on now and he wasn't quite that brave yet. While the boys were waiting for the tea to be made, Adam quizzed Gold on Scotland some more and also about all the stuff that he had in his house. "It's like your shop in here. Why do you have so much stuff?"

"Makes the house feel smaller I suppose." Gold answered truthfully. He had never really given the matter much thought though. Leave it to kids to bring up simple questions that rearranged someone's entire way of thinking.

Adam looked at him like he was absolutely mad. "Why not just get a smaller house then? Stuff doesn't make you happy. Well unless that stuff is books. Books can make you happy. They make me and Mama happy anyway. She would always read to me, even when my dad was being mean to us." Adam looked down for a moment before looking back at Rodric. "You're not going to be mean to us like he was, are you?" he asked.

Mr. Gold was struck dumb once again by this kid. He must have been getting older than he thought. Or maybe he just was unfamiliar with how frank children could be. He was betting on the latter. "No." Rodric said sincerely. "I won't be mean to you or your mother like he was."

"Good." Adam said, looking back at the kitchen before turning to Gold again and leaning close. "Cause I like it here." He whispered. "I don't want to move away again."

Rodric just smiled and ruffled up Adam's hair. He had no idea what to say to the child. At five years old he had already been through so much and yet all he wanted to do was smile and live a normal life. Adam wasn't jaded yet, not like he was and Gold wanted to make sure that Adam would get his happy life. It sort of surprised Rodric when he realized that he didn't want Adam and Belle to move away either. He wanted them to stay… with him…

Belle came in with a tray full of tea, milk and cookies before she went to Gold's fire place and started it up. "It's a bit late for cookies, but I figure you'll be tired soon anyway so I don't have much to worry about." She teased Adam.

The kid just laughed and munched happily on the cookies while he cuddled up against his mom. He was warm and safe and happy, things that until recently were sort of foreign to him. Adam really did like it in Storybrooke. Things were so different here. Things were better here. Hopefully they would never have to go back to Georgia. The boy's eyes closed as he watched the fire dance and before long, he was fast asleep.

Mr. Gold couldn't help but laugh softly when he noticed Adam go limp beside his mother. "You were right. He's out." He said quietly.

Belle smiled down at her child and then looked over at Gold. "You should have seen him when the snow first started to fall. It was like nothing else in the world mattered. He was finally able to be the kid he was always supposed to be."

"Snow does tend to bring out the children in all of us." Rodric teased. "Though I will admit, I haven't played in the snow since Bae…" His eyes grew pained and he trailed off, looking down at the chipped cup he was drinking from. "Anyway…" Gold shrugged and went silent.

"That's the real reason you hide out in the winter isn't it?" Belle asked softly. "So you don't have to see the snow and remember him."

Gold clenched his jaw a little and just gave a slow nod. "Bae loved the snow." He whispered. "It was always snowing on his birthday… We would play in it for hours." Rodric looked to Adam and tears formed in his dark brown eyes. "Hearing him laugh today… It was like Bae being alive again. If only for a moment."

Belle touched Gold's hand softly and looked into his eyes. "It's your memories that keep him alive, Rodric." She said softly. After a moment she squeezed his hand softly and smiled gently. "I'm sure he would have grown to be a great man with a father like you."

"I don't know about all that, dearie." Gold said with his typical sarcasm. "I'm hardly a man to be admired."

"Adam thinks you are, and believe me he'd know." The young mother said, looking down at her boy. "He's always been a good judge of character. Even when he was a baby he would always cry if Devin held him. It didn't matter what mood he was in beforehand; as soon as Devin held him, he got upset. It was the same way with some of the old biddies in town too." Belle smiled some. "Course that was just my bad influence rubbing off on him." She rolled her eyes and played with Adam's hair softly. "Anyway, I should be getting him home." Belle got up and picked up her son.

Gold stood faster than he probably should have, but he bit back the pain and put on a tense smile. "You shouldn't walk in the weather. You could always stay in one of my guest rooms. Or.. Or I could drive you back. Whichever you prefer." He added hastily.

Belle smiled softly at Gold and looked down at her sleeping son. "Well… I suppose we could stay the night. It wouldn't hurt anything too badly I trust."

"Of course not." Gold said simply. "I'd be honored if you two would be my guests. It's been quite some time since I've had enjoyable company."

They stayed the night at Gold's house, and spent the majority of the winter there as well. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years were also spent at Gold's house so he wouldn't have to risk falling in the snow. Belle found herself growing more and more attached to the older man, and it got to the point where seeing them together was no longer gossip worthy. Of course it still pissed Regina off to no end, but she hardly cared. All Belle knew for sure was that she had not been this happy in years and she didn't want it to stop.

When the snow started to thaw, Belle began drawing up plans for a nice little garden to put out in front of the library. Maybe some roses and daisies and other such flowers; she wasn't quite sure yet. Ruby was helping her. "Holy crap!" Ruby exclaimed. "You've been here almost a year!"

Belle blinked, thought about it, and her eyes widened. "Wow… You're right. It has been a year. It feels like so much longer, but it also feels like I just rolled into town yesterday."

"Who would have thought that you'd be the librarian and dating the most powerful man in town?" Ruby teased. "You sure know how to upgrade." The waitress still wasn't overly fond of Mr. Gold given that he was still undeniably rude, but for some reason he made her friend happy and he was nice to her kid so she decided to give him a chance. A small teeny tiny chance.

"I still wouldn't say we were dating." Belle said diplomatically. "We're just…close."

Ruby snorted. "Yeah right, you're totally dating. You spent the holidays with him! He bought you and Adam Christmas presents. You kissed on New Years!"

"On the cheek!" Belle protested. "And I bought him a present too." Granted it had been a pocket watch from his own shop, but whatever.

"Still, Gold doesn't do holidays and yet you single handedly seemed to change his mind. And you seem happier for it too." Ruby noted.

The librarian smiled softly as she looked down at the paper and shrugged. "I will admit, it's nice being around a man that doesn't want to kill me." She said quietly. "And you should see how he is with Adam. It is absolutely precious."

"I doubt he would show that side to anyone else around here." Ruby said before gathering her bag. "Anyway, I have to take off. Tell your boyfriend I said hi."

Belle rolled her eyes. "He isn't my boyfriend." That term sounded so juvenile to her. Besides they were just friends. What the hell would a successful older man want with a single mom that only graduated high school? She shook her head some before she went to get Adam from school.

As always, Adam wanted to go to Gold's Shop to see if there was anything new to see. Belle assured him that there probably wasn't, but the boy remained adamant that he wanted to see Mr. Gold. So they went and talked for a few hours before they all decided to go back to Belle's apartment for dinner. It was a small meal like always, but Gold didn't seem to mind. The cozy setting and warm atmosphere was so much more important to him. Rodric loved Belle and Adam. He knew that since the day they made the snowmen for him and stayed the night in his home. Gold just didn't know how or when he should tell her or if she even felt the same way. Rodric hadn't exactly been courting her openly, but in his own subtle ways he was. He left her flowers, left books for her, got Adam to help him pick out Christmas gifts she would like. Maybe he should be more direct. Maybe he would build up to that. Their friendship was more than enough for now.

Belle cleaned the kitchen while she talked to Rodric and Adam. This was how it was supposed to be, she was sure of it. A man that cared about her and her boy and he would not lay a hand on them. It relaxed her to her very soul to be around Gold. She didn't have to walk on broken glass to be perfect for him and he was so appreciative of even small gestures of kindness. Maybe she loved him. The thought shocked her to her core. After Devin, she was sure she would never love again, but Gold made her change her mind. For once in a long time, Belle felt like she was deserving of a man's love. She didn't know how to feel about it really, but she knew she didn't want it to stop.

With Adam in bed and the house clean, Belle and Gold went downstairs to the library to say goodnight. "I had a lovely time." Gold said. "As always your cooking is amazing."

"Well thank you. I do appreciate that." Belle said, looking up at him. For some reason she couldn't take her eyes off his lips. She thought about kissing him for awhile, but she didn't want to be too forward. Sadly, Gold was having the same fears. They stared at each other in silence for the longest time before Belle dropped her eyes first. "Well… Good night." She said quietly, her hand going to the door so she could open it for him.

Before he could talk himself out of it, Rodric leaned down and captured her lips with his. Lava coursed through his veins. She tasted like honey and sunlight, pure happiness and everything good in this world.

Belle gasped softly, but she kissed him back, her fingers going into his soft hair. He tasted like he smelled, antique shop and pine trees. She liked it though and wanted more, but she pulled away before it could get too much. There was a light in her eyes that was mirrored in Gold's. Oh they were so much more than friends now, and both of them finally realized it. "Good night." Gold said softly, kissing her forehead chastely. He still couldn't quite say that he loved her yet without feeling like he was springing it on her.

"Good night." Belle whispered, opening the door for him. She stepped out into the night with him and watched as he walked towards his car with a dreamy smile on her face. The love struck woman was so wrapped up in her thoughts as she turned back towards the library that the battered blue car on the other side of the road did not even register in her mind. It was official though. Belle was in love.

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**Be prepared. It's about to get real. **


	10. Chapter 10: Devil Came up to Storybrooke

**Author's Note: Okay so I was really excited to get this chapter written! Be warned though it is a bit graphic so it is going to be a strong T. I did say it was about to get real. **

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Chapter 10: The Devil Came up to Storybrooke

Devin's mood matched his eyes in that moment. He was burning with bright green jealousy. Why should that bitch be happy when she left him for dead? Devin gripped the steering wheel tightly; bracing himself for what he knew was coming. For an instant he saw himself putting that brat's arm on the stove, laughing as he screamed for his mother. He passed out after that but was brought to his senses by a loud noise and searing pain in his chest. His brain took a second to process what just happened. That bitch shot him! Later he found out she actually shot him twice. His eyes opened just long enough to watch her leave the room. Devin thought he was going to die that night, but someone heard the shots and called an ambulance. He tried to tell people it was Peggy that did this to him. No one believed him. They all thought she was too afraid of guns to ever use one. She might be crazy, but she was also a coward. The sheriff even said she raised hell at the hospital about how his hurting Adam was the last straw so she was leaving him. Devin growled some. Peggy was smarter than he gave her credit for. With her stuff gone and the place trashed, it just looked like she left him and someone else came, robbed the place and shot him.

Devin spent a month in the hospital getting his strength back and planning how he would find his wife and make her pay for what she did to him. The only problem was finding her. Peggy always talked about going north for a vacation or whatever so he figured that's where she'd go. Mostly likely she was going by her maiden name again: Hayes. She also hated her first name and any variation of it which meant she was calling herself Belle again. Belle Hayes, back to who she used to be before they were married. The man snorted and looked down at a picture he had of her. She just had Adam and was holding the baby in her hospital bed. It was one of the few things she left behind; of course she had numerous copies of this particular photo.

Months went by before he found anything of use. He knew a few people that owed him favors. Well they owed his father favors, but that hardly mattered. Either way, Belle went completely off the grid, but then about a week ago Devin got a call from some guy. He said he knew where Belle was and for a price he would tell him. Cost him a couple of grand, but he was soon on his way to Storybrooke, Maine. What a dumb name for a town, but it didn't surprise him that she would find herself in a place like this. The mysterious voice went on to say that she was the librarian and seeing someone. That infuriated Devin so he packed up a bag and was on his way before the hour was out.

Finding the library was no big deal in such a small town. The shock came from seeing Belle with some old guy with a cane. "Gold digging slut." He muttered to himself. "Knew she was trouble." It bothered him that she was happy, but more than anything it bothered him that the man actually seemed interested in her. Peggy was worthless and no good at anything she did. She couldn't cook, her cleaning was terrible and he didn't even want to remember how she had been in bed. So stiff. It was like screwing a log. Devin wrinkled his nose and shook his head to clear it before watching the old man get into his car and leave. Finally.

Belle was sitting in her room brushing her hair and smiling softly. She could not stop thinking about how Gold's lips felt on hers. They really and truly kissed! She giggled softly to herself and thought about calling Ruby to tell her but it was late and she would just see her best friend tomorrow. Things were going so well that the sense of foreboding she had only two weeks ago seemed so far away and beyond silly. The letters in her dresser were probably pointless now, but all the same, they eased her mind to write them. She dressed in a black cami and red gym shorts before going to check on Adam.

Adam was sleeping soundly in his bed, wrapped tightly around the stuffed dinosaur that Rodric got him for Christmas. It was his favorite toy now. Belle walked into his room and kissed his forehead one more time before making sure the covers were secure around him and going back to her room.

She slid into the covers and closed her eyes, falling asleep and dreaming about Rodric's lips on hers and his arms holding her. There was little doubt in her mind now about how she felt about Gold. Belle's happy sleep was short lived however. After years of dealing with a man that would come home at all hours of the night and most of the time in a bad temper, she became quite a light sleeper.

Devin put his elbow through the glass window of the library door before reaching inside to unlock it and let himself in. He wrinkled his nose at the smell of books. Why the hell did any one like spending time in places like this? The man let his eyes adjust to the dark before he started forward. Too bad he missed the chair that was just a little too far into the aisle. "Damnit!" He growled probably a little too loudly.

Belle was out of bed with her .380 revolver in her hand heading towards Adam's room. At first she just thought it was a thief that assumed for some unknown reason she would be an easy mark. Then she heard the voice and her heart stopped. "Oh God." She whispered. She was in Adam's room and shaking him awake seconds later. That voice haunted her darkest nightmares. How in the hell did he find them?

Adam groaned and rubbed his eyes. "Mama, what's wrong?" he mumbled. It was easy for him to sleep now that he knew he was safe. "Mama."

"He's here, Adam. He found us. You have to hide." Belle whispered frantically. "Hide in your closet until I tell you. You're going to have to run and get help, okay? I need you to be brave for me, baby. I need you to be a big boy."

Adam was instantly awake and terrified. "Daddy found us?" He said in a small voice before tears started to run down his face. "I don't want to go back there."

"You're not going to." Belle said firmly. "You're not. Now hide okay? Hide. Mama's going to make everything better. I love you baby." She kissed his forehead and all but shoved him into his closet so he would be safe. Belle left the room and took a defensive stance in front of her son's door. There was no way in hell that man was going to take her baby boy from her. No way, no how.

Devin burst through the door seconds later and smirked at Belle's thin petite form holding the baby revolver in her hands. "Hello, Peggy." He drawled. "Long time no see. I was worried that something happened to you."

"Devin." Belle responded evenly. "Guess I wasn't that good of a shot then. I hoped you were dead."

"Oh I almost was, darlin'. Almost. But see I lived, and I figure there must be a reason for it. So I decided to track you down and take back what's rightfully mine." Devin growled, moving towards her.

Belle's jaw clenched and she tightened her hand around the gun, but for some reason she wasn't able to fire it. It was different now that he was awake and staring at her with those green eyes so full of hatred. Fear coursed through Belle's veins and for a few moments too long she was Peggy Kingston all over again. "You're not taking my son." She whispered.

Devin smirked and kept moving slowly closer. "See that's where you're wrong, Peggy. Because I am taking Adam. He's mine."

"Over my dead body."

"That can be arranged." Suddenly Devin lunged at Belle and knocked the gun from her hand before slamming her against the wall. His hands were around her throat and he was squeezing tightly.

Belle gasped and struggled against Devin, but her vision was already starting to go black around the edges. She scratched his arms as hard as she could and drew blood from him, but that only made him squeeze tighter. Belle started to panic and switched to clawing at his face, hoping to find some soft spot that would make him let go. No such luck.

Devin cussed at how hard Belle was fighting and soon just opted to throw her to the ground and pinned her beneath his much larger frame. He slapped her repeatedly, busting open her lip and causing both eyes to blacken and swell. Her nose was soon broken as well and when she started to go limp, Devin got off of her and started to viciously kick her. "He's my son! You hear me!? He's mine you bitch!"

Belle knew she had to act quickly before he actually did kill her. Gathering the last reserves of her strength, she reared back and punched Devin as hard as she could just below his belt. It had the desired effect since he buckled and fell to the ground beside her. As fast as she could, Belle moved to pin him and kneed him hard between the legs again. This was going to be her only chance to have Adam get out of there alive. She took a shaky breath and coughed up some blood for her trouble. Shit. This was worse than she thought. "Run, Adam! Run!" Belle called out as loud as she could. "Run!"

Adam darted out of the room and gasped at what he saw. Belle's face was covered in blood and he could see the now black bruises covering her arms and neck. "Mama!"

"Get out of here, Adam!" Belle screamed, already getting thrown off by Devin. "GO!"

Adam ran before Devin got a chance to stop him. He ran like the devil himself was chasing him.

"Fucking bitch!" Devin snarled, punching her in the face with all his strength, knocking her off of him but closer to her gun. "I'm going to kill you!" He took out his .40 caliber pistol and pointed it right at Belle just as she turned back to face him with her own revolver.

"I'll take you to hell with me you bastard!" Belle rasped. She was laying on her back with a perfect shot of his head. If she was going to die, then she was damn sure going to take Devin with her.

Archie Hopper liked to take Pongo for walks at night to clear his head. After a day of listening to people complain about their lives it was nice to get away for some time to himself. Like always, he took a route that led him passed the library. Something was different though. That blue car didn't belong to Belle or anyone else in town. A sudden sense of dread washed over Hopper and he walked across the street so he could get a closer look.

Adam burst out of the library in his Superman pajamas and ran right into Archie. "Dr. Hopper!" Adam cried. "You have to help me! He's in there! He's hurting my mom! You have to call Sheriff Graham, please!" The boy was in hysterics, clinging to Archie and seemingly unaware of the fact his feet were bleeding because of the broken glass.

"Adam, calm down, you're hurt. What is it? Who's in there?" Hopper asked gently, holding the boy by his shoulders to keep him steady. "Adam, you have to calm down."

"My dad! He's going to kill Mama! He's mean and he's bad! Dr. Hopper call the Sheriff, please!"

Hopper quickly got out his phone and had Graham on the line. "Sheriff get to the library quickly. Something is wrong. Adam says his dad is in there and Belle…" Hopper was cut off abruptly by loud popping sounds from the library. It took a second for him to realize what they were, but by then Adam was screaming in terror. "Oh God." Archie said quietly.

"What!? What!?" Graham snapped from the other end of the line. "What's wrong with Belle!?"

"I just heard gunfire Sheriff. Call Dr. Whale and tell him to get an ambulance here too." Hopper said quietly.

Adam was clinging to Hopper when Graham got there. "You keep him here!" He shouted at the therapist before going upstairs. What he saw shocked and sickened him. There was a strange man with a bullet in his head, and then there was Belle, raggedly breathing. "Belle!"

Belle could barely breathe, and she knew she was in trouble because the pain in her body was starting to subside. "Graham. Adam. Is he safe?" She rasped out.

"He's with Archie." Graham started to try and stop the bleeding. "Just hang on, Belle, okay? The ambulance is on the way. Help is coming, just hold on."

"Dresser. On my dresser. There's some letters. Make sure… Make sure that you all read them." Belle coughed up blood and cried out in pain.

Graham cussed and kept trying to do what he could, but there was some part of him that knew she was dying. It would be a miracle if she even got to the hospital. "Yeah yeah." He muttered. "Just keep breathing."

The dying woman gripped Graham's arm with shocking strength and pinned him with her dulling blue eyes. "Promise me. Promise me Graham that you'll get them to who they're meant for. Promise me!" She rasped out.

Graham looked into her eyes and finally nodded. "I promise." He said quietly. "I promise." No sooner than the words were out of his mouth, two paramedics came in and took over trying to keep Belle alive. They didn't worry with the corpse next to her. By the time they got her downstairs, Ruby showed up and was holding Adam to keep him as calm as possible. She didn't notice the glass in his feet until Hopper mentioned it.

"We'll get you to the hospital too, Adam." Ruby promised as she went to Graham's squad car. "Graham we have to go!"

He was in the doorway of the library holding a medium sized manila envelope filled with a couple of letters for some members of the town. "Yeah, let's go." Graham said, running to the car. "Call Gold while we're on the way. He needs to know."

Ruby grimaced some but Adam perked up at that. "Please, Ruby. Please call Mr. Gold." The kid sounded so pitiful and he had been crying so hard; how could she say no to that. She pulled out her phone and dialed Gold's number. It was almost eleven so she knew he was going to be asleep and mad as hell.

The fact he was being pulled from a rather nice dream involving Belle already put Gold in a foul mood. The fact that the call was from Ruby Lucas only made matters worse. "What in the bloody hell do you want?" He snapped.

Ruby clenched her jaw and had to hold her tongue in check for Adam's sake. "Gold it's Belle. Something's happened. She's hurt really bad and the ambulance is taking her to the hospital. I have Adam, he's safe, but I really don't know about Belle…" She watched Adam's scared face and put on a brave smile for him.

Gold's world stopped in that moment. No. No no no no NO! This wasn't happening again! He couldn't lose Belle! "What do you mean you don't know about her!? Is she at least alive!?" He roared.

The red head flinched at the volume of his voice and had to hold Adam close to her to shield his ears from what she was about to say. "I don't know." She whispered. "The paramedics said she wasn't breathing when they put her in the ambulance…"

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**I love you guys! Please don't kill me!**


	11. Chapter 11: Letters

**Author's Note: I got so many requests (and one or two sort of threats) to keep Belle alive, but you'll have to read to find out if I did or not. Y'all might want to get some tissues though. I cried while _writing_ the dang chapter. I would also like to give a shout out to my dear muse SK again. She helped me get my thoughts together as she always does! Anyway! Enough talking! On to the show!**

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Chapter 11: Letters

Gold honestly did not remember driving to the hospital. He didn't remember walking into the hospital either. Everything was just a mess of colors and sounds. None of it made any sense. Belle hadn't been breathing. Ruby said that Belle hadn't been breathing when they put her in the ambulance. Was she breathing now? Was she even alive? Who did this!? So many questions and absolutely no answers. The first person that Gold saw was a rather pensive looking Sheriff Graham and the always jumpy Dr. Hopper. "Where is she?" Gold growled.

Graham went over to him and held up his hands to stop and calm Gold. "Surgery. They were able to get her breathing again and now they're trying to patch her up. The bastard really did a number on her." He said quietly.

The look on Gold's face was frosty enough to grow icicles in the Sahara. "Who. Did. This?" He snarled.

"From the sounds of it, Adam's father." Hopper offered quietly. "The man that Belle was running from." From what Belle had told Hopper in their brief sessions, Devin was the real monster and Mr. Gold was a good man, though the look on Gold's face had even the optimistic doctor questioning Belle's assessment. The pawnshop owner looked ready to destroy every living soul within a five mile radius.

Gold's nearly black eyes pinned Hopper. "Where's Adam?"

"Getting stitched up." Graham said, taking over. "He ran through some glass barefoot. Ruby's with him now."

"I want to see him." Gold insisted, his voice no less dark, but at least it was softer now. He just wanted to kill whoever hurt Belle and God help all of them if she died.

Graham didn't argue with Gold. Instead he led the way to Belle's son. "For what it's worth; Belle got the bastard. Shot him between the eyes."

Gold's jaw clenched tightly but he couldn't help but feel a little bit proud of Belle for slaying her dragon. "Death was too quick then." He muttered.

"Agreed." Graham said in a tone that rivaled Gold's own. Belle was well loved in this town and the Sheriff did not like the fact that Devin found her and did this. He was going to get to the bottom of this, and he had a feeling that he wouldn't even care if Gold got involved. It wasn't like he was going to be able to stop the pawnshop owner anyway.

Ruby had to keep Adam from jumping down from the bed to get to Gold. "Adam, be careful of your feet. Doc just patched you up."

Gold didn't really like that Ruby had her hands on Adam, but upon seeing the boy's feet, he let it go. "I'm right here, lad." He said softly, hugging Adam once he was close enough. "You're safe. It's alright."

Adam was crying all over again and clinging to Mr. Gold for all he was worth. "She was all bloody! He was hurting her, but she kept fighting him. Mama's not going to die is she? I don't want her to die."

Rodric closed his eyes tightly and had to use every bit of willpower he had to keep from crying himself. The thought of Belle dying just sent waves of unspeakable terror through him. They were only just starting to acknowledge their feelings for each other. Why did this have to happen now? Gold clenched his jaw tightly and took a deep breath as he rubbed Adam's back softly. "No. Your mother is not going to die, and I'll tell you why: She loves you way too much to leave you." He said, sounding a hell of a lot more confident than he felt. _Belle, you better not make a liar out of me._ Rodric held Adam firmly with one arm, ignoring the pain in his leg for the time being. Adam needed him. That was all that mattered.

The now six year old was beyond traumatized by what he saw. Belle's face had been covered in blood and her hair was matted with it. She looked like something out of a horror movie. There were black bruises all over her arms and legs, but her eyes were still that fierce blue as always. Adam could still hear her voice screaming at him to get out of there. While still clinging to Gold, the little boy sobbed "I want my Mama. I want Mama."

Ruby put her hand over her mouth and had to fight back tears of her own. She wanted to hold the kid and take every bit of his pain and fear away, but she would have to get passed Gold for that. That was one fight she did not want to start. Belle always talked about how good Gold was with Adam, but this was the first time she saw it firsthand. He was doing everything by the book. Rubbing Adam's back and rocking him as much as he could; it was like someone gave the man a soul in the last three seconds.

While balancing on his good leg, Rodric used his cane to hook a nearby chair and bring it close to him so he could sit down and hold Adam better. Ruby helped once she figured out what was going on, but wisely said nothing. Once the older man and the child were settled into the chair, Adam wrapped his arms tightly around Gold's neck and put hid his face in his arms. All Gold could do was hold the kid and whisper over and over that it would be okay and that his mom would live. They had to believe that Belle would make it.

Graham knocked lightly on the door and cleared his throat some. Ruby and Gold both looked up at him and the Sheriff had to fight back a smirk when he saw Gold tighten his arms protectively around Adam. He never had the older man pegged as the paternal type, but maybe he was wrong. Or maybe Belle just brought that out in him. Thinking of Belle made him look down at the three envelopes in his hands. "Before the paramedics came, she…she made me get these. I promised I would give them to whoever she wrote them for." He looked between Ruby and Gold. "They're for you two and Adam." He whispered as he handed Ruby hers while Gold got the other two. That being said, he turned to leave. Graham was pretty well known for his lack of emotion in certain situations, but even this was enough to make his stomach turn. Belle was lucky to have made it to the hospital. In truth he thought she should be dead from her injuries, but he would never voice that opinion out loud. It was too much like wishing it on her by just thinking about it.

Ruby held the envelope in her hands, shaking a little from built up emotion. "Should I… Should I read it?" She asked quietly. Right now the normally confident waitress looked just as lost as the child that was curled up against Gold. "I mean… What if she…" Ruby couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. Belle might not have been in town that long, but she had become Ruby's best friend and the thought of Belle dying was too much to take.

Gold studied his envelope before looking at Adam's shrugging a little. "I don't think it would hurt anything." He said with uncharacteristic kindness. Gold knew he wouldn't read his though. It might not hurt anything for Ruby to read hers or even for Adam to have his read to him, but Gold would not read his until Belle was healed and safe for good. Reading his letter now would feel like he was admitting she could die. That was something he would never do.

Belle's best friend nodded slowly and took a breath before opening the envelope and taking out the letter. Tears were already filling her eyes. It was handwritten. How typical of Belle.

_Dear Ruby,_

_Chances are that if you're reading this then something bad has happened to me. I don't know what, but I have this feeling that something is coming. I had the same feeling when the soldiers came and told me that my brother, Danny, had died. So I decided to write you a letter to tell you some things just in case I didn't get the chance to say them to you later. _

_I never had a sister, Ruby, but if I did then I would want her to be like you. You are so full of energy and life. Never ever let anyone take that away from you, okay? Promise me that, even if I'm not around, just promise me that you will never let someone take away your soul. It is the worst feeling in the entire world. _

_But that doesn't mean you have to be afraid to get close to people. I think you'll find a man one day that will worship the ground you walk on for reasons other than great sex. You'll capture them with your wit and charm, and they will never want to let you go. I believe that with every breath in my body. Who knows, maybe you'll finally get up the guts to ask Archie on a date. He'd like that a lot. _

_Promise me another thing. Promise that you'll take care of Adam if I can't anymore. You know better than most people in this town that he is my heart and soul. I know he'll be safe with you though. He adores you. He even called you 'Aunt Ruby' the other day. Remember that? I thought you were going to start crying in front of everyone. I know I almost did. This place has become Adam's home as well as mine. I'd like it if he could stay here with you._

_There's so much more to say, but I just can't seem to find the words right now. I guess the easiest way to do this is to simply say: I love you, Ruby. You're my best friend and my soul sister. I don't think I would have gotten through this past year without your help. Even the sarcastic comments made my days brighter. You will never know how often I was so close to giving up until you walked into the library and started making jokes about the guy you went out with last night or whatever else popped into that lovely head of yours. _

_I hope I'm writing this letter for no reason other than to ease my own mind. I hope I get to see you again and tell you all of this in person. Maybe not all at once, but at least over the years seeing as how I plan to stay in Storybrooke for a long time. Anyway._

_Here's lookin' at you, Kid._

_Love, _

_Belle_

Ruby had been doing a good job of holding it together right up until she read the last line. "Here's lookin' at you, kid." She whispered before running out of the room to sob in the hallway. Ruby didn't even know she was on her knees curled in a ball until Archie was beside her and helping her up.

"Ruby." Archie said softly, before pulling her into a hug. "It'll be okay. Everything will be okay."

The dark haired woman just held onto the therapist, crying into his neck and scared to death that she was never going to see her best friend again. _Here's lookin' at you, kid._ Ruby couldn't get Belle's voice saying that out of her head. She remembered when they watched Casablanca together. It was Belle's nine millionth time seeing it, but Ruby had never seen it before then. It was amazing, and every time they saw each other after that they would always slip that phrase into the conversation somehow. Ruby let Archie lead her to the waiting room and stayed in his arms crying until she couldn't cry anymore.

Adam calmed down eventually and was now sitting with his back against Rodric's chest staring at the envelope with his letter in it. "Mr. Gold." Adam whispered. "Will you read it to me?" He looked back at the man he wished was his father with eyes the same color blue as his mother's. "Please?"

Gold looked down at Adam and pain racked his chest. God he looked so much like his mother. He had her eyes, nose, mouth, hair, and her kind spirit too. Adam must have gotten her curiosity and bravery on top of everything else since he wanted Gold to read the letter to him. Rodric gave a small smile and nodded. "Sure." He took a small breath to steady himself while he opened the envelope and Adam just cuddled closer to him. Gold started to read softly:

_My precious Adam,_

_You're still so young right now, and I hope that you never have to read this letter, but just like Grandpa Jack says, "Better safe than stupid." Baby, you remember that feeling I told you about right before the Uncle Danny's friends came and told us he wasn't coming home? Well I got that same feeling today. Something bad is coming and I don't know what it is, but I can promise you this: I will always keep you safe. Even if I can't be right beside you holding your hand, I will be with you because I love you more than anything in this entire world._

_I remember the day you were born. I was so scared and it hurt a lot, but the moment I saw you for the first time I knew I would do anything for you. When Daddy was being mean to us I promised myself that I would do whatever I had to do in order to get us out of there one day. At least I kept that promise. We're free now, hopefully forever. _

_Aunt Ruby is going to look out for you and hold your hand if I can't. I know Mr. Gold will too. Don't ever listen to what people say about him, okay? You're smart enough to know better than to listen to gossip. He cares about you a lot, even if he doesn't always know how to show it. Just remember that and everything will be okay._

_You're going to grow into a fine man, I'll bet. So much better than your daddy. You'll be strong and brave and everything that he never was. I know that and I believe that with everything I've got. I just hope I'm there to see it. I want to see you fall in love for the first time. I want to share that joy with you. I want to see you get married one day, not too soon mind you, you know how I feel about schooling. It should always come first. But if love does find you, don't run away from it. It's scary and hard, but I promise you that it is worth every second of it. _

_All of that will come in its own time though. For now just stay young. Be that happy wonderful kid that played in the snow. Protect that little boy inside you always, Adam. He's what will make you an amazing man. If you don't remember anything else from this letter, please remember that. And remember this._

_If something happens and I have to go help hang the stars at night, I will always make time to come tuck you in at night. I will play with you in the raindrops and I will kiss you in the snowflakes. I will ruffle your hair in the wind and I will warm you up with the sun. No matter where you are or what you're doing I will always, always be there to watch over you. _

_I love you so much, baby boy. I tell you that every day and I will keep telling you that for as long as I can. Maybe you won't even have to see this letter until you are older with children of your own. I think it would be better then because then you would be able to understand exactly how much I love you. But just in case; I want you to be good for Aunt Ruby and Mr. Gold. I want all of you to take care of Mr. Gold especially. You know how cranky he can get. Don't let him hide in his big pink house, and don't you go in there to hide with him. You should live life not hide from it. Never hide from it._

_Be brave for me, kiddo. I know you can do it._

_I love you to the stars and back a million times._

_Mama_

Mr. Gold had never felt so many emotions course through his body at one time. His voice wavered and he had to stop reading altogether a certain points. He could not believe this woman, this wonderful, loving soul was lying in the hospital possibly dying because of some animal that wanted to hurt her. He sat in silence with Adam, trying to keep his composure but ultimately he failed. A single tear fell down his weathered face the second Adam wrapped his arms around his neck again.

"I miss my Mama." Adam whimpered. "I want her to come back."

Rodric held the boy tight and closed his eyes to prevent more tears from falling. "So do I, lad." He whispered softly. "So do I."

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**P.S. I do plan on finishing this story pretty soon. Maybe within the next two or three chapters. Or later. Still working on that part. Just thought y'all should know. But fear not! I already have ideas for a part 2!**


	12. Chapter 12: Pain, Hope, Rage

**Author's Note: I hope this chapter will alleviate certain fears that some of my readers have. :) It's a bit fluffy, but there's some humor to balance out the heart wrenching scenes that I've been concocting of late. Enjoy! Please read and REVIEW! I love you all, dearies! **

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Chapter 12: Pain, Hope, Rage

Adam was asleep in Gold's arms by the time Whale came into the boy's hospital room. The doctor looked beyond exhausted. Gold would have stood up, but he didn't want to wake the child. "Doctor." Gold said quietly, not trusting himself to say anything else. Whale eyed the most feared man in town, unable to do anything else but gawk. This man was known for reducing grown men to sniveling masses of bones and yet here he was; holding a child with all the tenderness of a father. The pawnshop owner turned his head and fixed the doctor with his trademark death glare. "Unless you have an update for me; get out." He growled.

Dr. Whale cleared his throat and took a breath. "She's out of surgery, but we will need to send her to Boston for her long term care. Both of her lungs were damaged badly. She won't be able to breathe on her own until they have healed."

Rodric's jaw clenched. "And how long will that take?" He whispered, holding on to Adam a little tighter.

Whale went silent and looked down. "Mr. Gold, I'm still not one hundred percent sure she will make it through the night. If she does then she will go to Massachusetts General." He didn't feel the need to state the obvious alternative.

"Unacceptable." Gold hissed, checking his urge to stand up and make himself more imposing. Adam had seen enough aggression tonight, but the thought of Belle not healing at all made Rodric panic in ways that he had not in a long time. He couldn't lose her.

"If I send her now she could go into cardiac arrest en route and die." Whale said simply. "I have done all I can, Mr. Gold. We'll keep her here until we know she can handle the ride."

The Scotsman looked at Dr. Whale and clenched his jaw even tighter to suppress the growing rage inside him. "May I at least see her?" He growled.

Whale shook his head. "She needs absolute rest right now. Patients have been known to sense when people are in the room. I don't want to risk triggering some sort of episode right now." The doctor looked at the still sleeping Adam and then back to the older man. "I would take him home and get some rest if I were you. I've advised everyone else to do the same."

Ruby tapped on the door, as if on cue, and came into the room. "Hey, uhm, I was just going to see if you wanted me to take Adam back to my place." She whispered to Rodric. "I have some clothes of his there."

Gold was about to tell her that he would take care of Adam, but the little boy started to shift and he tightened his arms around the self proclaimed Monster of Storybrooke. "Wanna stay with you." Adam whimpered, looking up at Mr. Gold. "Can I?"

The grownups traded looks and Ruby smiled some. "I could just bring the clothes by later since he already has pjs." Seeing how much Adam wanted to be with Gold made her back off and not push the issue.

Adam relaxed instantly and Gold looked almost grateful. "Thank you." Rodric said softly. He rubbed Adam's back for a moment before standing up. It was a little difficult to maintain balance, but Rodric was determined to carry Adam out of that hospital. The boy tightened his arms around Gold's neck and even wrapped his legs tightly around the man's middle for good measure. Rodric's arm firmly supported the boy, but mentally he was thanking whatever God was listening that the boy was all of fifty pounds if that. It took a few moments and some halting steps to get a good walking rhythm going, but Rodric managed.

Ruby couldn't help but be amazed at the willpower in that man. She always saw Gold as a heartless monster and yet here he was, all dressed up in one of his black power suits carrying a six year old kid in Superman pajamas in one arm and trying his damndest to keep his balance using his cane in the other hand. Under any other circumstances Ruby would have smirked at the sight. Maybe she would have out right laughed, but in that moment it was just a testament of how much Belle and Adam really meant to Gold. In that moment, she saw the man that Belle always said was inside the cruel and heartless dealmaker. Ruby followed Gold out of the hospital and watched as he gently pried Adam off of him so he could sit in the car.

"I just need a moment to talk to Miss Lucas alright, Adam? Just a moment." Gold said softly before shutting the door and turning to face the young waitress. He fought to put his business face on and bury his emotions, but so much happened and he was exhausted. Bits of agony and terror peaked out from the corner of Gold's carefully put on mask. "We should be awake by 10. Feel free to come by any time after that." He said coldly. It was nothing personal, but with everything else going crazy, he needed some sort of control over himself.

Ruby rolled her eyes some at Gold's tone, but she took a breath and bit down the sarcastic reply bubbling in her throat. "Yeah." She said instead. "I'll do that." The waitress started to turn away, but she stopped herself and faced Gold again. "You know it's okay to be human every once and awhile, Gold. She won't die just because you let your guard down in front of people besides her. We're all worried about her."

Gold's eyes went almost black at the tone in Ruby's voice and he drew himself up to his full height. He wasn't really that tall for a man, a little under six feet really, but the dark air around him made him seem a lot bigger. "I'll thank you to keep your opinions to yourself, Miss Lucas." He warned as his brogue thickened with every word. "You deal with things your way, and I'll deal with them in mine. Good night." He turned on his heel and got into his car before driving home.

Adam was silent the whole ride home. The events of the night seemed to really be hitting the poor kid. His feet were hurting and the one person he wanted to be with was still at the hospital. He tried to hold back the tears, but he couldn't. "It's my fault." The child whispered miserably. "Mama wouldn't be hurt if it wasn't for me…"

Rodric's eyes snapped to the child and he stopped the car a little faster than he intended. "Don't ever say that, Adam." He said firmly. "Your mother loves you more than anything. She'd be mad if she heard you say that."

Something inside of Adam broke in that moment. All of the rage inside of the six year old shown through his bright blue eyes and his face flushed. "WELL SHE CAN'T HEAR ME NOW!" The boy screeched. "SHE'S DYING AND IT'S ALL MY FAULT!"

Shock ran through Gold's body at the raw emotion burning inside that sweet kid. Part of him wondered if the temper came from Belle or the bastard that hurt her. Maybe it was both. Rodric took a deep breath to steady himself and watched the boy as he dissolved into sobs. "Adam it's not your fault." He said softly.

"Yes it is." Adam choked out. "Mama had to marry Daddy because of me. That's what everyone always said. She wouldn't have had to do that if it wasn't for me. I shouldn't be here!" He screamed.

Gold clenched his jaw and unbuckled Adam's seat belt so he could pull the kid into his lap and stare him in the face. "Adam Nathaniel Hayes, don't you ever say that again." There was anger in Rodric's eyes and voice, but it was parental anger. He spoke with the same tone that Belle would have in order to get Adam to behave. He even used Adam's full name for good measure. "You are here for a reason. You are just too young to know it yet. I'm 43 years old and I'm still not entirely sure why I'm here." Gold shook Adam by his shoulders, not to hurt him, but just to get his point across.

Adam froze and watched Rodric with wide eyes. His tiny body was still shaking with sobs, but he was trying to calm down now. "Mama does that." He finally whispered. "She calls me Adam Nathaniel when I'm in trouble."

"Yeah." Rodric said softly. "I know." They stared at each other for about five minutes before Adam threw his arms around Gold's neck again and held on tightly.

"I'm scared." The little boy whimpered. "I don't want her to go hang stars. I want her to stay with me."

"And she will stay with you, Adam." Rodric whispered. "She'll never leave you." He took a deep breath as he held Adam tightly and kissed the top of his head. "I won't either." He mumbled softly. It was like he hadn't even said it out loud. Gold finished the drive home with Adam in his lap and got them back to his house safely. Getting Adam to bed proved to be slightly more difficult than Gold intended, but they made it to the guest room in one piece and Adam was soon tucked in and fast asleep. Rodric sat in a chair by the boy's bed and watched him sleep while holding the letter from Belle tightly in his hands. "You better not make me a liar, Belle." He whispered. "We both need you here."

Gold woke up to Adam tugging on his sleeve. "Mr. Gold?" Adam said quietly. "Mr. Gold you slept in the chair." Rodric winced as he shifted and realized that he was indeed still in the chair.

"I'm too old for this." He mumbled before pulling himself up. Gold hissed in pain as his knee seconded his statement. Adam watched Mr. Gold before he heard the door bell ring.

"I'll get it." Adam said and went to the door so Mr. Gold wouldn't have to. The kid had to stand on his tip toes to see that it was Ruby. He smiled a little and opened the door. "Morning, Aunt Ruby." Adam said, hugging her leg tightly.

Ruby smiled and knelt down to give Adam a proper hug. "Good morning, Adam." She said softly. "I brought you some clothes. Why don't you go change while I talk to Mr. Gold okay?"

The pawnshop owner had just made it into the room and looked imposing like he always did when people other than Belle and Adam were around him. His features did soften as the boy ran passed him to change clothes, but it was back to business when Adam was gone. "Have you heard anything?" Gold asked urgently.

Ruby nodded. "She made it." She said with relief in her tone. "They're moving her as soon as the helicopter gets here. The sooner they put her on a proper breathing machine the better off she'll be."

Gold nodded some and pulled out his phone, dialing a number. "Carter, it's Gold. Set up my apartment by Massachusetts General. Yes, the one with three rooms. I want all of my calls routed through the office. Don't bother me unless it's an emergency, and by emergency I mean the company is about to go into bankruptcy." There was no way that was possible given Gold's way with money so basically he was telling Carter to field everything for him. "Contact Massachusetts General and tell them to put a patient named Belle Hayes in a private room. No she's not there yet, she'll be coming in by chopper within the hour. Her file might say Margret Hayes. No that won't be necessary, I'll be driving myself. Yes, that is all." Gold hung up his phone and gave a slight tilt of his head when he saw Ruby's astonished expression. "Something the matter, dearie?" he asked drily.

"You have an apartment in Boston? And you can make sure Belle gets a private room how? By snapping your fingers? Just how much money do you have, Gold?" Ruby asked incredulously.

Rodric shrugged and moved to the kitchen to make some tea. He still had to pack a few suits and get clothes for Adam; he'd need energy for that. "A fair amount." He said simply. "I don't see how it's any concern of yours." Gold put water on the stove and got a bowl down for Adam to have cereal. He found that he didn't have much of an appetite.

Adam came into the kitchen dressed in an Iron Man shirt and some jeans. "Can we go see Mama?" He asked, not realizing he was interrupting anything.

Ruby smiled some and nodded. "Yeah, we'll see her as soon as we can." She said honestly. They would at least be able to sit with her today.

Rodric poured Adam's cereal and milk for him before moving back to the stove, hoping that the subject of his wealth was forgotten. It wasn't.

"Seriously, Gold, where did all your money come from?" Ruby persisted. "No one is as rich as you are without being involved in something shady."

Gold rolled his eyes. "I'm a lawyer, Miss Lucas." He said drily. "Lots of things are…shady, as you say, about my line of work."

Ruby smirked some. "So a lot of back room deals? That how you make your extra money?"

Adam looked in between the adults, wondering why Ruby was bothering Mr. Gold. The more he thought about it though, the more he remembered that Ruby was always bugging Mr. Gold somehow so he just went back to eating his cereal.

The older man huffed and pinched the bridge of his nose while the tea steeped for a couple of moments. This woman was impossible. "I spin straw into gold in my spare time, dearie. There you know my secret. Now please be quiet."

Adam giggled some, earning a stunned look from Ruby. "What's so funny, huh?" She didn't catch the reference.

The little boy smiled a little and shrugged. "It's a story." He said quietly. "Mama read it to me once. Rumpelstilskin spins straw into gold. Mr. Gold's not him though. Rumpelstilskin isn't real."

Gold gave the boy a gentle, almost tender look that Ruby couldn't see before he turned back around to fix his tea. "Very good, Adam." He murmured.

With breakfast eaten and clothes packed, Gold looked to Ruby. "You'll be needing to get a few things together too, I trust." He said.

"Excuse me?" Ruby asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why would I need to?"

Rodric rolled his eyes. "Did you not pay attention? I got my three bedroom apartment ready. That's one room for me, one for Adam and one for you. Unless you don't want to come in which case I can get a smaller apartment for the time being."

"No I do want to come!" Ruby said. "Just. Just give me a second." She dashed up to her room so she could pack her clothes. It freaked her out to have Gold be considerate in any way shape or form to her. Ruby was so used to the monster that it was hard to believe there could be a man underneath all the ice.

Moments later they were on the road to Boston. It took them some time to get there, but once they entered the city, Gold was on his phone barking orders to that Carter guy. Ruby felt a little bad for him, but it was better than Gold yelling at her. Adam was the only one that seemed to be oblivious to the world. He had never been to a big city before so it was a bit of an adventure. All Adam could really think about though was how much he wished his mother was there with him.

The hospital staff was less than helpful when they first got there. The receptionist said that only immediate family was allowed to see patients and that there could be no exceptions made. Ruby jumped in before Gold even had the chance. "Look, lady, the only immediate family Belle has is this kid and the bastard that put her here. Fortunately she got him. Now if you want to send a six year old back there by himself, I would love to talk to your supervisor about your job." Ruby hissed.

"You can't do that." The receptionist said haughtily.

"She may not be able to, but I definitely can." Gold growled. "I can have the director of this hospital on the phone right now. I'm sure he would hate to find out that the top donor for this facility pulled funding because of a smart mouthed seat filler."

Ruby smirked and Adam held onto her hand tightly. Gold could be scary when he wanted to be, but Adam knew that even at his worst he was nothing like Devin.

The receptionist snorted and returned to her work. "Immediate family only, sir. Those are the rules."

Rodric's eyes flashed and he pulled out his cell phone again. He waited while staring daggers at the woman that was about to lose her job. "Lewis. It's Gold, I have a problem with one of your staff. I understand that it's policy to only allow immediate family to see patients, but there are extenuating circumstances in this particular case. My assistant contacted you earlier about a woman named Belle Hayes getting a private room." There was a pause while he listened to something the man on the other end of the line was saying. "Thank you, Lewis." He smirked a little. "Yes. This makes us even." Once the cell phone was away, Gold chuckled rather darkly. "You'll be getting a call in a moment, dearie."

The phone rang about two seconds later and the woman answered it. She gave her name and paled when a male voice started to yell at her from the other end. After the line disconnected, the receptionist quickly pulled up Belle's information. "Room 1015. Sorry about the delay, Mr. Gold." She said quietly, almost near tears.

Gold smirked and turned towards the elevators without another world. Ruby followed with Adam and soon they were in Belle's room. Ruby and Adam looked like they were about to cry. Gold just looked like stone.

Belle's face was swollen and her head was wrapped in gauze. The bruises on her neck were black and Ruby put her hand over her mouth to hold back the cry of disgust when she realized that the bruises looked like hand prints. It was like the bastard's hand was still choking her. There was a tube in Belle's throat to help her breathe and she had a feeding tube going through her nose as well. An IV was in one arm while a blood pressure cuff was on the other. Any other injuries were covered by the sheets and her hospital gown.

Adam put his face in Gold's side and gripped his good leg tightly. "She looks broken." He whispered. "Can they fix her?"

Gold clenched his jaw and cleared his throat softly before moving his fingers through Adam's hair. The boy leaned into the touch as it reminded him of the woman in the hospital bed. "Your Ma will fix herself. She's strong." Rodric whispered.

Ruby nodded in agreement and found herself moving closer to Rodric and Adam. Her eyes closed and she let out a breath before finding chairs for them to sit in. They were going to be there for quite some time.

That first week passed by in a fog. All three of them would sit with Belle until visiting hours were over and then either Ruby or Gold would take turns going back to the apartment with Adam to sleep. Rodric didn't know which he hated more; leaving Belle there, or staying. The woman in the hospital bed wasn't the woman he had come to love, and yet she was. There were a few times when her heart stopped. Each time Rodric prayed that she would pull through, and each time she did. By the end of the week, the doctors said that her lung function was improving. They still wouldn't wean her off the machine just yet, but they were hopeful.

Adam would read to his mother every chance he could. He wanted her to be able to hear the story and come back. The boy even asked the doctor if Belle could hear him. When the doctor said it wouldn't hurt to read anyway, Adam ran to his bag and grabbed his favorite book. He read all of the books about three times before he asked Rodric to take him to the library to get more books. Gold indulged the boy every chance he could. Ruby was seeing more and more of the man Gold tried to hide and she didn't really know what to do with this new side of the most feared man in her town.

It was the middle of the second week when Gold's cell phone rang, causing Adam to pause in his reading of a children's version of one of the 1001 Arabian Nights tales. In that moment Ruby saw the more familiar side of Mr. Gold. The angry business man side. "What?" Gold snapped into the phone without even looking at the caller ID.

"It's Graham." The sheriff said with a touch of triumph in his voice. There was also something dark and sinister in his tone. For the past week he had been going through Devin's things trying to figure out how he was able to find Belle and hurt her. So far he didn't have any luck. That is until he found Devin's cell phone. It was dead, but Graham had a charger that fit the phone. After it had enough juice to power up, Graham went through the phone searching the recent calls log. A number popped out at him and rage burned through him. That slimy little bastard. He would definitely pay for this.

Gold relaxed instantly and he huffed. "Well what is it? Have you found anything of interest?"

Graham smirked on the other end of the line. "Yes I have. I found the bastard that sold Belle out."

Ruby watched as the monster reared his head again and Adam grew a little nervous. He never saw that kind of anger in Mr. Gold's eyes before. It was like there really was a beast inside of him that was threatening to claw its way out and destroy everything in sight. When he spoke, Adam suddenly got the mental image of a lion that was given the gift of speech. "Who did it?" Rodric growled. There was a pause and the monster came out in absolute force. "I'll be there tonight." Gold stood up and looked to Belle and Adam before looking to Ruby and pulling a card out of his pocket. "If you need anything while I'm gone, call him. He'll get you what you need."

Adam watched the older man. "Where are you going?"

Rodric paused. "There's something I need to take care of, Adam." The beast was under control for now. The kid and his mother did that for him. "I'll be back soon." He walked over to Adam and kissed the top of his head before looking over to Belle. The bruises had faded some, but her face was still a little swollen. Gold touched her still bandaged head and let out a breath. "I'll be back soon." He whispered again before leaning down to tenderly kiss Belle's cheek. Rodric's jaw clenched tightly before he turned on his heel and walked quickly out of the room before the anger inside him could burn out. Gold needed that anger, that rage inside him. There was no way that he would get away with causing the woman that Rodric loved to get hurt. No way. No how.

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**DUN DUN DUN! Who could it be? I will take guesses and give shout outs to those that get it right! :) Next chapter will probably be M for a serious beat down. Still working on that. Hope you liked it!**


	13. Chapter 13: Best Served Cold

**Author's Notes: Alright, dearies! The winners for the "Guess Who Did It" contest are: NicoleMuenchSeidel and TeamTHEFT! And for those of you that are dying to read Gold's letter... You're just going to have to wait. Sorry! I promise it will be worth it though!**

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Chapter 13: Best Served Cold

True to his word, Gold was in Storybrooke that very night. The emotionally charged side of him wanted to go straight to the man's home and kill him, but the cool and calculated side wanted that worthless lap dog to suffer like no man before him ever had. Gold was well versed in the art of interrogation, or rather torture, courtesy of his stint in the British Royal Army. He would make Sidney Glass wish he was never born. First things first; he needed to go home and get a few things.

Gold's garage was cluttered and dusty, much like the rest of his house; but here is where he stored the things he couldn't bear to part with while at the same time couldn't stand to see. There was a large spinning wheel in one corner and a box of children's clothes in another. A shepard's staff leaned against clothes bag that held Gold's old Army uniform. It was the workbench that held what he sought. He pulled out the rolled up mat and untied it before opening it, staring at the various pliers and assorted scalpels that would doubtlessly come in handy for what he had in mind. He grabbed some rope and duct tape before walking back out of the cursed room and getting in his car once again. With his supplies in hand, he made his way to Sidney Glass's home.

Glass was in his home office, going over articles that were going into The Mirror the day after next. He was twitching at every noise though. Ever since Belle got sent to Boston, Graham had been digging into everything Devin had in order to figure out the source that gave him Belle's address. It was disconcerting, especially since he had only been acting on Regina's orders. It was no great shock that Graham was digging really. It was his nature. Regina assured Glass that he would be safe, but he wasn't so sure about that. Belle Hayes was very close with Mr. Gold, and if Gold ever found out that he was involved with Belle getting beaten nearly to death then there wasn't going to be a place on this Earth that he could hide.

The sudden knock on the door almost made Sidney scream like a child. He looked at the clock and cursed. Who the hell wanted to see him at that hour? Glass stood up and slowly made his way to the door, hoping that it was Regina. Hell he would welcome the sheriff even. Anyone but the man he was basically hiding from. Sidney opened the door and paled drastically. "Gold." He stammered. "What do you want?"

Rodric Gold gave his trademark evil smirk and tilted his head ever so slightly to the side. "Oh I think you know why I'm here, Mr. Glass." His voice was quiet, but slightly more high pitched and maniacal. "A little birdie told me that you are the one responsible for Ms. Hayes being on life support." Gold giggled slightly and the sound sent ice water down Sidney's spine. "I've come to give you an idea of how much she's suffering."

Glass opened his mouth to plead his case, but before he could say a word, Gold's cane flew through the air and connected with Sidney's face effectively knocking the man. Gold smirked at the swelling on the lap dog's face. There was plenty more of that to come.

When Sidney woke up, he was tied to a chair in his kitchen by his hands, ankles and torso, dressed only in an undershirt and his boxers. Duct tape covered his mouth and his left eye was swollen nearly shut. It took him a moment to realize what happened to him, but once he did, his eyes went wide and he started to scream. It was useless though, his cries for help came out muffled at best due to the tape. Glass jerked against his restraints and continued to scream for all he was worth until a cold chuckle turned his blood to ice.

"Scream all you like, dearie. No one's going to hear you." Mr. Gold said in that same maniacal tone he used when the door first opened. There was a deep madness burning in his now black eyes while he sat in a chair about two yards away from Sidney. His bad leg was crossed over his good leg and the grin on Gold's face was enough to sent Glass's heart into overdrive due to his fear. In this moment, Gold was not Gold at all. He was…something else entirely. Something darker and far more sinister.

Gold popped up from the chair and laughed, though honestly with was more of a giggle. "That means we won't be interrupted." He half danced, half hobbled over to Glass's chair and grinned wider, the madness growing behind his eyes. "We're going to be getting to know each other rather well, Mr. Glass." Gold giggled again before going over to a table and unrolled his mat, running a finger over each one of the tools he was about to use on Sidney. "I know why you did what you did, Mr. Glass. I know who ordered you to tell Mr. Kingston where Ms. Hayes; that's not why I am here." He took out a pair of small pliers and turned to face Sidney, giggling even more now. "I am here because you are the perfect messenger. You tell Regina everything she wants to know. You do her bidding like a good little mutt. Therefore _you_ are going to become the example of what happens to someone that causes harm to those that I have become quite fond of." Rodric grinned so wide that it seemed to split his face. "Let's begin shall we?"

Those were the longest three hours of Sidney's miserable existence. His throat was raw from crying out in sheer agony and his eyes once wide in terror were now bloodshot, swollen, and dull from tears shed. The kitchen smelled like blood and human anguish as well as madness. All of Sidney's fingernails had been ripped off as well as his toenails. Tiny, precise cuts made patterns across his skin, a few dangerously close to his eyes. His feet were swollen almost beyond reason thanks to Gold smashing the top of his cane down on them. Bruises covered his shins and arms now and Glass's head just hung down in pure defeat. He prayed for death to take him while Gold washed his hands and smoothed his hair back.

The monster was satisfied for the moment. Sidney was a miserable bloody mess of what used to be a human being, and Belle was getting stronger by the day. Soon she would wake up and be reunited with him and Adam and they could be together. Rodric already knew he would never be able to spend another moment without her by his side. He would do everything within his power to make sure that his Belle was safe. Adam was already like a son to him. Yes. They would be a family and no one would ever hurt either one of them again. Gold smirked to himself and turned to face the poor excuse of a human being. "I've grown tired of our little game, dearie, so I'm going to call the Sheriff, you're going to confess to being the one that called Mr. Kingston, and then you'll be going to jail for accessory to attempted murder and child endangerment. Are we clear?"

All the broken newspaper editor/reporter could do was nod slowly. He had given up trying to speak or reason with Mr. Gold. He had given up on everything really. The pain was all he had left to focus on. It was his only assurance that he was still, in fact, alive.

"Good!" Mr. Gold chirped. "Now I'll be on my way. You have a nice night, and don't forget about our little agreement. I'm sure the Mayor will be pleased to hear from you." With that, he gathered up his tools and was gone. Once he was far enough away from the house he pulled out his cell phone and called Graham. "He's still alive, but he'll be needing some medical assistance."

Graham blinked. "I'm a little surprised that you didn't kill him, Gold." The Sheriff said honestly. "I kind of expected you too."

Rodric gave a deep chuckle, one that made the hairs on the back of Graham's neck stand on end. "There's no need to kill him. The doctors expect Belle to live. Now if that should change then Mr. Glass will meet with an unfortunate accident, but I am nothing if not fair. If she lives, then so does he." There was a pause on the line before Gold cleared his throat. "That's how she'd want it." Rodric hung up without another word before he dialed Ruby's phone. It was past midnight, but Gold knew the waitress to be a creature of the night so he fully expected her to be awake.

Ruby was watching Adam sleep in the other chair, clutching one of his books when her phone started to buzz. Gold's name was on the caller id so she answered and spoke quietly. "Adam's been asking about you. When are you coming back?"

Gold clenched his jaw some. "I'll be back there by dinner. Had to take care of some things here first. How is Belle?"

The waitress sighed softly. "Had another close call. She was okay about a minute later, but still… Adam and I are still here. He didn't want to leave her alone."

Rodric cursed quietly and took a deep breath before letting it out. "Tell Adam that I'll be there as soon as I can. I'll bring him some more books to read her."

"He'd like that." Ruby said, moving a bit of hair out of the boy's face. "Hey Gold."

"Hmm?"

"I hope you made him suffer. Belle is the best person I know. She didn't deserve this." Ruby said with uncharacteristic bitterness in her voice.

Rodric didn't know what to say at first, but then he just smirked some and let out a snort. "Not to worry, Ms. Lucas. Belle won't be bothered again. Get some rest. Good night." He hung up before Ruby could respond. By the time he got to his house, Rodric just felt empty. Without that revenge to keep him going, he was just a tired old man hoping that the woman he loved would wake up and come back to him. Gold went to his bedroom, tugged off his tie, jacket, and shirt before just lying back on his bed and closing his eyes. His leg was killing him; probably had something to do with karma, but he wasn't paying attention anymore.

Gold's dark brown eyes moved to his nightstand that held the envelope which was still, as of now, unopened. The letter inside frightened him. It was probably telling him how good of a friend she thought he was. It couldn't possibly have anything about loving him in there. He remembered their first kiss though. It had been a long time sense a woman made him feel like that. It had been a long time since a woman made him feel anything other than irritated or used. Rodric needed Belle to make it out of this ordeal alive because without her, he was nothing. They had known each other for a year and it felt like she had always been a part of his life. It was the same way with Adam. He would do anything in the world to insure that boy's safety and happiness. It was like they were his second chance to have a real family. Maybe this time he could do things right.

He picked up the envelope and turned it in his hands for a moment before resting it on his chest. It was the one thing he had of her in this room. Rodric wasn't going to be able to sleep without it near him. His fingers began to move like they were ticking off numbers, when in reality he was reliving the memories of being in church as a child. He was born and raised Catholic, so Hail Mary's and Our Father's were nothing new to him. The old pawnshop owner fell into a trance like state as he recited Hail Mary's over and over, his fingers moving against each other like they were rubbing rosary beads. Ever since being in the Army and losing his wife and Brandon, Gold found that he didn't really believe in God anymore. When it came to Belle though, he'd be willing to do anything to make sure that she would wake up. So Rodric prayed. He prayed and wondered what was going on in Belle's head, if anything, and he wondered when she would come back to him.

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**Just two more chapters to go, dearies! It's been a wild ride and I am so honored by all of the reviews. Not to worry though! This story will not be the end for Belle, Gold and Adam!**


	14. Chapter 14: Sweet Dreams

**Author's Note: Alright, dearies! We're down to the home stretch! After this there will only be one more chapter! It's been a wild ride and I want to thank you all for the reviews! It makes my humble little writer's heart happy to know that people like my work. Stay tuned for a sequel and look for me in other fandoms!**

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Chapter 14: Sweet Dreams are Made of These

_"Promise me!"_

_"I promise. I promise."_

Those were the last words Belle remembered before the darkness claimed her. She felt like she was floating, but there was no bright light, no angels coming to greet her. It was just darkness. There would be moments of clarity. Belle could hear the steady beeping of the heart monitors and the strange Darth Vader-esque sounds that the breathing machine made. Her favorite sound though was Adam's voice. He had to be reading to her. She recognized passages from his favorite book, and pieces of fairy tales. Oh he was getting so much better at reading. Belle was so proud, but she couldn't tell him how good he was doing. Gold had to do that for her.

Rodric. Oh how she remembered their kiss. So sweet and pure. He tasted like the pawn shop and pine trees, but she found that she loved it. Belle could tell it was only him in the room because that was the only time she felt his touch. It was light and hesitant, like he could somehow break her, but it was there none the less.

_"I love you, Belle. I need you to come back to me. Adam misses you too. Please, Belle. Please wake up."_

Belle wanted to comfort him. She wanted to wrap her arms around his neck and hold him close and tell him that everything would be okay. She wanted them to be a family. Adam deserved a good father, and for the first time in her life, she felt like she deserved a good man too. Rodric was everything she wanted, and she would fight to stay with them. It was hard though. Every time that machine breathed for her it hurt. There was a physical therapist that would come in and move around Belle's legs and arms so she wouldn't get blood clots. Belle hated that woman even though she never laid eyes on her. She was rough and every movement sent searing pain through Belle's body. Pain that no one seemed to be aware of. The medicine they had her on pretty much put her body in a catatonic state. Belle's mind may have been able to register the pain, but there was no speeding up of her heart to reveal just how much pain that woman caused her.

God she was tired of this place. How long had she even been asleep? Days? Weeks? Months?... Years? It frightened her to think that she would wake up and her son would be grown. What if she missed her chance with Rodric? What if she never woke up? Dying didn't really scare Belle as much as it probably should have, and when you live with a man that beats you bloody most nights and uses you for a personal sex doll, part of you hopes for it. Part of you prays for death to take you before he can hurt you again. Belle had those thoughts before. She thought about ending it all just to make the pain go away, but then she saw her son. She saw Adam playing in the yard and she knew in that moment that she would never be able to leave them in the hands of that monster.

Sometimes Belle would actually have dreams. She saw Danny a lot of the times. Adam and Rodric too, but it was mostly Danny that filled her comatose dreams.

_Belle was sixteen years old, with her brown hair pulled back into a high ponytail and an Atlanta Braves baseball cap on her head. She was wearing jeans and a light blue tanktop with her work boots on her feet. Brown gloves protected her hands while she grabbed the harsh rope that secured the bales of hay and threw them into the barn. Farm work was hard, but it was good exercise, there was no denying that. Her arms were toned like the rest of her and she had a lovely farmer's tan. Belle wasn't smiling though. Instead her normally cheerful face was pulled into a pensive frown. Something was wrong. Something bad was about to happen, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was yet. _

_The dogs started to bark like crazy at a black sedan that was coming up the driveway. That feeling of dread only served to grow until it threatened to choke her. She dropped the bale of hay and sprinted to the main house. "Daddy!" She called out. _

_Moe Hayes came out of the house and saw the sedan. His first thoughts were of worthless debt collectors. He paid them already! Why were they bothering him now? Finally the car stopped and two men stepped out in dress uniforms for the Army. Metals gleamed on their chest and one of them had a letter in his hand. Moe paled. _

_Belle was confused at first, but the look on her dad's face explained it all. Fear filled her bright blue eyes as she looked to the men. Their faces were hard, but sympathetic at the same time. The older of the two spoke. "It is my regret to inform you that Corporal Daniel Hayes was killed in action two days ago…" Belle's knees got weak and tears erupted from her eyes. She saw the man's mouth still moving, but the words didn't make sense anymore. Nothing did. Danny was dead. _

_The sixteen year old turned and ran out towards their fields. Her and Danny used to play there all the time. It was where she felt closest to him. Belle didn't know she tripped on something until the ground bit into her hands and she rolled onto her back. Sobs racked her body and she gave a primal scream of pure agony. She screamed her brother's name over and over as if that would somehow summon him to her side and make him alive again. It didn't work._

_They were at Arlington National Cemetery now, watching as Danny's casket got lowered into the cold ground. Belle felt empty. Danny had been her best friend and protector all her life. Him going away was hard enough on her, but the fact that he came back in a box destroyed her. "You shouldn't have gone back, Danny." Belle whispered to her brother's coffin. "I told you not to go. Why didn't you listen to me? Why didn't you stay?" The coffin didn't answer. It never would._

Belle hated it when she dreamed of Danny. It only made her miss him more. The only things she looked forward to was hearing the activities of the room. Mostly the beeping and whirring of the machines combined with Adam's voice was the only noise in the room. However, even in her coma, Belle noticed a pattern. Adam's voice would fill her days, and depending on whose turn it was, music from Ruby, or Rodric's tender voice would fill her nights. Ruby stayed two nights in a row one time. It made Belle uneasy. Where was Rodric? She wanted to ask that question and many others, but her voice was silenced for now. Belle listened to the rock and roll melody that Ruby was playing on her phone for her.

_Such a beautiful color you wear upon your skin_

_And a perfect shade of purple on a flower permanent_

_And I'm constantly reminded of a past that never bloomed._

_As I sit behind these bars, only silence fills the room._

_I've never been down this road before._

_As the days go by I only miss you more._

_I thought one day we would touch the sky._

_Never grow up, never gonna die._

_I never realized what you meant to me_

_Till I tried drowning out your memory_

_But it burns read, like it's not over._

_It only hurts when I'm sober._

Belle recognized the song as Purple by Pop Evil. She wanted to smile. Ruby loved that song, though she never did figure out why. It didn't really matter at this point. Belle loved Ruby's taste in music.

_Belle was older now, but she was in a dark room, one that she didn't recognize. She could hear people walking about around her, but nothing brushed into her. It was a little disconcerting. She looked around, trying to find a shred of light, anything that would tell her where she was, but for the longest time there was nothing. _

_"Belle? Belle!?"_

_The woman froze at the sound of her name. She knew that voice. She prayed to hear that voice again someday. Slowly Belle turned and gasped when she saw him. "Danny." She breathed. He looked just like she remembered him. He had a strong jawline and high cheek bones like their father, but he had their mother's slight build and bright blue eyes. "Danny!" Belle ran to her older brother and had every intention of hugging him tightly, but he held up his hands to stop her._

_"No! No you can't touch me, Belle! You can't!" Danny sounded frightened, but that was wrong. Danny wasn't scared of anything._

_"Danny, what are you talking about?" Belle asked, still holding her hand out to him. "I've missed you, big brother, why can't I hug you?"_

_"Because if you touch me then you have to stay." Danny said, sorrow in his tone. "Belle you shouldn't even be here. I should have been there to protect you from him."_

_Belle let her hand drop to her side and just stared at her brother. "Danny, you did what you had to do. I'm not mad anymore. I miss you every day, but I don't hate you for what you did. I'm proud of you."_

_Danny gave a shadow of a smile. "I'm proud of you too, little sister. You finally got away from him and you kept your boy safe." Oh he wanted to hug Belle so badly, but he couldn't. She had Adam to worry about and that man that she was seeing. "You've got a good man, Belle. Gold is a bit old for you, but he loves you."_

_Belle smiled and looked down as if she were blushing. "I love him too, Danny. He's so great and you should see how he is with Adam. I want us to be a family."_

_"Well you can't be a family with him if you stay here, sis." Danny said kindly. "You have to go back. You have to go back so you can be with Adam and Gold."_

_She nodded slowly and turned away from her brother. "I miss you every day, Danny."Belle whispered softly._

_His voice came from directly behind her now. "I miss you too, Belle. We'll see each other again. Just not now. I love you."_

_With that, Belle was alone in her darkness again. She sighed softly and just settled down to wait for the next thing to happen. _

Ruby's phone buzzed softly and she answered it. "Adam's been asking about you. When are you coming back?" There was a pause and then a sigh."Had another close call. She was okay about a minute later, but still… Adam and I are still here. He didn't want to leave her alone." Another pause. "He'd like that. Hey, Gold."

_"I hope you made him suffer. Belle is the best person I know. She didn't deserve this."_

Belle longed to get out of this stupid catatonia. She wanted to talk to Ruby and hug her kid. She wanted to kiss Rodric and tell him that she was never going to leave him again. She wanted so many things. But mostly she just wanted to be free of this lifeless fog.

_"I'm back, Belle. You're safe now. Nothing is ever going to harm you again. I promise."_

Rodric Gold sounded so sure of himself, but Belle would have reminded him of the folly in making promises he couldn't keep. He couldn't protect her all the time. She chose not to focus on that though. He was back in her room with her and Adam. They were all together. That was the important part. So that week passed, and the third week of her coma came.

_Belle had that sense of dread again. She was in the apartment above her library dressed in a black cami and red gym shorts. Oh no. No. He found them! No! She ran to Adam's room, but he wasn't there. "Adam!" She screamed his name. "Adam!"_

Ruby perked up when Belle's heart rate started to climb. She was up and got Adam off the bed before Gold could even stand. Belle's arms were twitching and her head was moving from side to side. Noises were coming from the back of her throat. All of these things were new. Ruby held Adam tight, but looked at Gold with hope in her eyes. Belle was waking up. "Mama?" Adam called out. "Mama!"

_"Mama! Mama!" Belle could hear Adam screaming for her as she searched the suddenly labyrinthine apartment. Every turn brought her to a dead end or a longer hallway. "Adam!" She screamed. "Adam!"Another turn brought her face to face with the man that put her in the hospital. Devin smirked at Belle and gave a bone chilling chuckle. "You're mine now, bitch." He lunged at Belle._

Three nurses and a doctor were now in the room trying to hold Belle down before she could hurt herself, but she was fighting like hell. They told Ruby and Gold to get Adam out of the room, but only Ruby and Adam left. Gold stayed and watched while Belle fought against the nurses, muffled screams of terror coming out of her throat. Her heart rate was going off the charts now.

_Belle fought hard against Devin, but now it felt like thousands of other hands were holding her down. It only made her flail more and scream, begging for someone, anyone to come help her. Gradually the image of Devin faded away and her eyes opened. White lights blinded her and her eyes snapped shut again. The smell of antiseptic and medicine filled the air. "Ms. Hayes! Ms. Hayes you need to calm down, we're trying to help you!"_

Gold saw a flash of blue on Belle's face and knew that she opened her eyes. Relief flooded him and he almost went weak at the knees, but now wasn't the time for that. He squared his shoulders and pushed one of the nurses out of the way and lightly touched Belle's face. "Belle, look at me. Belle you're safe." He had to dodge a few of her blows, but at the sound of his voice, the flailing slowed.

Belle's terror filled blue eyes focused on Gold's calm chocolate brown ones. The touch of his calloused hand on her cheek felt like heaven. She could smell the pine. She dreamed of that scent. Slowly, her heart rate came back down and she stopped fighting every one so much. It was like Rodric Gold was the only person in that room. Belle closed her eyes slowly and leaned into his touch. His lips brushed her cheek and his forehead rested on hers for a brief moment. "The docs are going to take care of you, Belle. I'll be right here, okay? I'm not going anywhere." He pulled away slowly, which Belle didn't really like, but she stayed calm because he stayed in her line of sight at least.

The doctor's got to work securing her IVs once again and pulling the tubes out of her throat and nose. Belle coughed and gagged a little, but once the doctors were done, she was breathing easier. She felt sore because of her injuries and because of the fight she put up, but she was awake. She was free for real now. They let her sit up and she smiled as much as she could when Adam came back into the room.

"Mama!" Adam squeaked happily. He all but jumped onto the bed and buried himself in his mother's arms. She winced a little, but she didn't dare tell him to stop. Belle wrapped around her boy as tight as she could and kissed the top of his head and his face all over. "I missed you, Mama." He whispered.

"I missed you too, baby boy." Belle whispered back. Three weeks of not talking rendered her voice next to useless, but she could still speak softly. Belle held Adam for a good hour before they had to do more tests on her to make sure she was really okay. They asked her questions and made her breathe into a machine on top of drawing tons of blood. By the time everything was over, all Belle wanted to do was sleep again. When visiting hours were over, Adam refused to go back to the apartment.

"I wanna stay with you, Mama." Adam said stubbornly. "I don't want to go back to the apartment."

Belle smiled some and kept her arms wrapped around Adam. "I don't think it would be such a big deal if you stayed." She whispered. Belle looked to Ruby and Gold. Ruby looked relieved that Belle was awake while Gold had his typical mask on. His eyes betrayed him though. They looked wet with unshed tears.

Ruby looked between Belle, Gold and Adam before she smiled some and went over to Belle's bedside. "I'll head out and see you guys in the morning okay?" she said, hugging Belle lightly and giving Adam a light kiss on his forehead. She left without another word and Gold's emotions pretty much ran wild. He moved to the bedside and pulled Belle into his arms as gently as he could. After some maneuvering all three of them were on the bed together with Belle leaned against Gold and Adam leaned against Belle. All of them relaxed for the first time in what felt like months instead of mere weeks.

Gold looked at Belle and kissed her lips softly before whispering "I love you." He wanted to tell her now while he still had the chance. The thought of losing her spurred him to get the courage it took to tell her that. "I love you, Belle."

Belle looked up at him before looking at the now sleeping kid in her arms. She smiled softly and looked back at Gold. "I love you too, Rodric." Her eyes closed again and she rest her head against Rodric's chest, falling into a comfortable slumber.

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**P.S. I do regret to inform you all that Chapter 15 might be a little delayed do to the fact that life has a tendecy to suck at times. Summer Class, Job and what have you, but I do plan on having it up by this weekend. Thank you, dearies! It's been a blast!**


	15. Chapter 15: Happily Ever After

**Author's Note: I AM SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO POST THIS! Life and Writer's Block decided to conspire against me. :( But it's okay because I finally defeated them! I hope y'all think it was worth the wait. You finally get to read Rodric's letter if that makes things better. Thank you so much for your patience.**

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Chapter 15: Happily Ever After

Belle took a deep breath as she sat outside on the back porch with a glass of sweet tea. It still hurt to do so, but she didn't really care at that point. After nearly a month and a half in the hospital, she wanted to get as much sunshine as humanly possible. She looked around the rather impressive garden that Rodric had and smiled softly at the thought of her lovely man. Oh he was definitely hers now and she was undeniably his. Once upon a time, she would have been repulsed by her own thoughts and actions, but with Rodric things were different. Belle loved every moment she spent with him. Being in the hospital was a living nightmare for her, but Gold made sure she was as comfortable as she could possibly be. It was weird for her to be so pampered, but Belle found that she kind of liked it. "Be careful, Gold." She told him. "You're going to spoil me rotten." Rodric just smiled and shrugged. "I'll take my chances, dearie." That was two weeks ago.

"Mama?" Adam called out from inside the house, pulling Belle out of her thoughts. She looked at her watch and smiled some. Yeah, it was time for him to be home. "Mama!" He sounded nervous now, and a little scared.

"Out here, baby." Belle called out. "I'm fine."

Adam rushed to her side and gave her a scolding look. "You're supposed to be inside, Mama. That's what Mr. Rodric says."

Belle just smiled some and ran her fingers through Adam's hair softly. "Well Mr. Rodric isn't the boss of me." She teased. "And I wasn't doing anything bad. Just sitting here." Belle assured her son.

Adam still didn't look overly convinced, but he leaned into his mother's touch all the same. "As long as you weren't doing anything bad.." He mumbled. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I am fine, sweetheart. I promise." Belle kissed her son's forehead before hugging him.

Ruby smirked from the doorway. "You're going to give Gold a fit when he finds out you were out here." She said simply, knowing the rules too.

Belle just shrugged some and laughed a little. "Yeah well it won't be the first time I've given that man fits." She said, getting up slowly.

The waitress was by her side, helping her in an instant and smiling some at her friend. "You are so stubborn. Is that a southern thing or just a you thing?" she asked.

"Hard to say, darlin', hard to say." Belle quipped before returning to the living room with Ruby. Rodric was going to be home any moment so she decided to just humor everyone and go back inside. This whole being sick thing was getting old fast, but she was getting stronger and stronger with every day and soon she would moving back into her apartment. At least, that's what she assumed.

That night at dinner, Rodric was unusually preoccupied. Belle asked repeatedly if something was wrong and was met only with grunts and head shakes. She wasn't in the least bit convinced, but for the time being she left him alone. When he wanted to talk about whatever his problem was, she would listen.

Adam, on the other hand kept watching Gold like he was expecting something any moment. Rodric and Adam talked about the possibility of asking Belle if she wanted to just stay in the house and not go back to the apartment. Adam loved the idea of living with Mr. Gold and one day being a real family, but the trick would be to ask Belle and see if she was okay with it. He really hoped his mother would go for it, but right now he was more worried about Rodric chickening out and not asking her.

Rodric huffed quietly for the thousandth time. _Just ask her you annoying, twit! Worst case scenario is that she says no._ Finally Gold looked up and watched Belle as she looked up and watched him in return. What was it about those eyes that rendered his normally silver tongue completely useless? She was so beautiful, and strong, and so much braver than he could ever hope to be. What could she possibly see in a washed up coward like him?

"You've got that look again." Belle said softly.

Gold blinked and tilted his head ever so slightly. "What do you mean, dearie?" he asked quietly.

Belle just snorted. "You know exactly what I mean: that self deprecating 'What could she possibly see in me?' look." She explained simply. "You think you're hard to read, but you're not."

Adam just smiled to himself and looked down at his plate. He liked it when his mom could get the drop on Mr. Gold. He would always get this funny look in his eyes like he didn't know if he should be mad or not.

Rodric sighed and looked to Adam for encouragement before he set his fork and knife down, steepleing his fingers in front of his lips, and pinning Belle with a rather serious gaze. It was what she once referred to as his 'deal making face'.

Belle arched her eyebrow and put her own cutlery down before she leaned back in her chair some and met Rodric's serious gaze with one of her own. Something was definitely on his mind.

Neither one blinked for about three minutes. Finally Rodric dropped his gaze and let out a slow breath. "Would you like to stay here?" he asked simply.

The librarian blinked and looked over at her now beaming son. So he was in on this. Interesting. "I..thought we were already staying here." Belle said rather hesitantly, not sure if this was going where she thought it was going.

Gold let out another huff and looked back into Belle's bright blue eyes. He thought he would never see those eyes again. Even before her attack, his house always felt like a home when she and Adam were there. The emptiness became even more unbearable each time they left. "You are." Rodric said briskly. The deal maker took another breath and looked at his plate for a moment before looking back up. His palms were sweaty. That never happened to him. Not anymore. "I was just… Wondering if you would entertain the idea of staying here…longer. Maybe on a more…permanent basis."

It took a second for the words to register in her mind. He was asking her to move in with him. Rodric Gold wanted her to move in with him. Belle looked over at Adam and saw the hope in his eyes. He wanted this too. Wow. They had a shot at being a family now. A real family now that Devin was out of the picture for good. Adam could have the father he deserved and she could finally know what it was like to have a man that loved her more than he loved himself. It was a lot to take in.

Adam traded looks with Mr. Gold. The little boy looked a little uneasy, and Rodric wasn't looking any more confident. He finally looked at his mother and tilted his head. "Mama, can we?" Adam asked softly. "Can we live with Mr. Rodric ?"

Belle snapped out of her thoughts and smiled big at both of them. "He seems to want us to, doesn't he?" She said softly. "I think I would like it too."

Rodric looked like he was about to pass out from relief and Adam let out a whoop of joy before getting up and hugging his mother tight and then running to Rodric and doing the same. "Does this mean I can call you Daddy now?" he whispered to the older man.

As Rodric Gold held onto Adam, he looked to Belle with tears in his eyes. It had been almost twenty years since he had been called that. To be a father again was one of the dreams he buried deep in his blackened heart, and yet here was his chance. At that table were two people that became his whole life in less than six months and both of them wanted to be with him. This was so different from his old life. So different and so beautiful at the same time. "If you want to, lad." Rodric rasped softly. "I wouldn't mind that at all." Adam held onto Rodric tighter and the older man returned the embrace.

"I love you, Daddy." Adam said quietly.

That did it. Both Belle and Rodric were crying now. "I love you too, son." Rodric whispered softly.

Belle went over to her boys and held onto both of them. Her family was whole, and in that moment, everything in her world was perfect.

That night, Belle and Rodric put Adam to bed. When he was asleep Rodric pulled Belle tightly against him, kissing her softly and deeply. She of course returned the kiss and moved her fingers through his lovely shoulder length hair, soaking in his scent and taste. It was the one thing she still craved since being out of the hospital.

"I can't believe he asked me that." The pawnshop owner whispered against his librarian's lips. "I knew he wanted to live here, but I never thought he'd… Want to call me Da."

Belle smiled softly and looked into his warm brown eyes. "I believe it." She said quietly. "You're the first man he's ever really looked up to. I see how he watches you. Adam never looked at Devin that way. He feels safe here, and so do I."

Rodric clutched her to him again and breathed in the scent of her strawberry shampoo, closing his eyes. "I love you both so much, Belle. You'll never know how happy you've just made me by saying yes to staying here." They stayed in that embrace for a long time before retiring to Rodric's room. It was the first time either of them had shared a bed in years and both of them were content to be held by the other. No nightmares plagued them, no regrets, it was just sweet simple peace and listening to each other's breathing.

A month later Ruby's trademark squeal rang through the diner as she held Belle's left hand. "It's beautiful!" She screamed.

Belle's face was red and she snatched her hand away. "Ruby, stop it!" She hissed. "You don't have to be so loud."

"But you're engaged! You're going to get married! That's exciting!" Ruby exclaimed. "Have you set a date!?"

There was a soft smile on Belle's lips as she shook her head. "No, not yet." She said, looking at her best friend. "Rodric said he didn't want to push me too much on that yet, for now he's content with us being engaged. Besides I think we're both a little leery about jumping into another marriage considering how badly our last ones ended."

Ruby sobered for a moment. "Fair enough." She said before smiling brightly again and taking Belle's hand in hers. "I figured he would go traditional and get you a diamond." The ring was silver, ironically, with a pear cut blue sapphire in the center. It was simple, but extremely beautiful. "And definitely go all out with the design."

Belle laughed. "He almost did." She said. "Fortunately he got Adam's input. Even got him to sneak into my jewelry box and get my class ring so he could get the right size."

"Your kid has good taste." Ruby said, admiring the ring still.

"That's what Rodric said. Oh you should have seen him, Ruby. It was so romantic. Adam pretended to go to bed while Rodric brought me out onto the porch." Belle smiled big and looked at her friend. "He pulled a rose from behind his back and presented it to me like I was some sort of princess. He even bowed like they do in those old movies." She giggled softly. "So of course I curtsied and then he turned on some music and we danced a little before he looked at me and got down on one knee." Belle paused again and her face went bright red at the memory. She was so surprised, but she had never been happier in her life. "I thought I was going to pass out, but then he started talking about how much he loved me and he wanted to make sure that everyone knew that. It was a beautiful speech, but I was too emotional to really pay attention." She confessed before laughing again and shaking her head. "Adam caught the whole thing on video though. Rodric informed me that it would be played at the wedding."

Ruby was in tears and she squeaked before reaching across the counter and hugging Belle. "Oh my God, you are so lucky, Bells. I'm so happy for you!"

Belle hugged Ruby back and smiled. "Thank you! Oh, and just so you know, whenever we do decide to get married, you are going to be my maid of honor."

The waitress squeaked again and laughed. "Sweet! That means I get to plan the bachelorette party!"

"You would focus on that part." Belle said, rolling her eyes.

"Duh!" Ruby said and giggled before giving Belle her order finally and waving goodbye. "We will discuss this more! And there will be alcohol involved!" Ruby called out after her.

Belle waved back and nodded. "Yeah yeah. I'll see you later, Ruby." The day passed pretty smoothly. The kids were in their little area being entertained by Jefferson this time since school was out and Belle was cleaning up. The bell to the door rang and her eyes jumped up hoping to see Rodric, but instead she got Regina. Belle's eyes became cold and hard within a matter of moments. "Regina." She said coolly.

The mayor smiled thinly and motioned to Belle's left hand. "I hear congratulations are in order. When is the big day?"

"Haven't decided yet." Belle said simply, going back to dusting her counter and ignoring the mayor. "Don't worry though, everyone will get an invite."

Regina chuckled some. "That's good to know." She said, glancing over at the children. "What did Adam think about it?"

Belle's eyes snapped up and they flashed in pure maternal rage. "You don't get to ask about him. Ever." She growled.

The mayor looked taken aback for a moment before she narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me? You don't need to take that tone with me, Miss Hayes. I don't care who you're engaged to, just remember that."

The librarian came out from behind the counter and got right in Regina's face. "I know what you did, Regina Mills." Belle said quietly. "You could have cost my son his life. I don't know what I ever did to you for you to get your pet to tell that son of a bitch where I was, but I assure you that if you _ever_ put my family in that kind of danger again I will burn everything you hold dear to the ground and spit on the ashes. Do you understand me?"

Regina was honestly shocked at the ferocity in Belle's tone and her eyes. For a second she completely believed that Belle would do exactly that. Never one to be showed up though, Regina just snorted and gave her trademark bitch smirk. "Don't make threats you can't back up, Miss Hayes. It ill becomes you."

"That was a promise, Madam Mayor." Belle said with a similar smirk on her face. "Don't believe me? Try me. I dare you." Looking into her eyes it would be easy to see that Belle Hayes would tear apart Regina's house brick by brick if harm came to her family by Regina's hand.

The mayor left without another word and the children were never aware that anything was wrong. Belle took Adam home and after dinner she told Rodric about Regina's little visit. He was less than pleased, but he was also extremely proud of Belle for handling it herself. It was just one more reason that he loved her.

In bed that night, Rodric found that he wasn't able to sleep. He sighed some and settled for watching Belle sleep for awhile. That didn't help either. Finally he just slipped out of bed so his tossing and turning wouldn't wake his beloved and went to a nearby chair. The full moon was streaming through the window, certainly bright enough to read by. The letter found its way to Rodric's hand almost like it was begging to be read. Finally he opened the envelope and began to read quietly.

_Rodric,_

_I've been staring at this paper for about an hour and I still have no idea what to say to you. These past months, well this past year really, has been the best time of my life. It's like I finally realize I'm worth something. I finally belong somewhere. You helped me with that. You're a huge part of why Storybrooke feels like home._

_I feel so safe with you. I haven't felt safe with a man since my brother died. God, I wish he were here. You would have liked him, and I know he would have liked you. You two would have had a lot in common._

_This is the hardest letter I've written. Adam's letter killed me to write, but this is just impossible. (I'm sure by now you know about the other letters.) Saying goodbye is something I've grown used to, but I don't want to say goodbye to you, Rodric. I want to see if maybe we can have…oh I don't know…something._

_Love has never been kind to me. My one blessing has been Adam. Everyone else has either treated me badly or been taken away. To be honest, even thinking that I could be in love with you scares me. I don't mean like a small startle either. I'm talking full blown panic. Not because of anything you've done, but because falling in love with you means that you could be taken too. _

_I really don't know what I would do if I lost you. Despite everything that's been said and everything that's been done, I can't really imagine my life without you now. Looking back I think it was the look on your face when you saw those snowmen Adam and I built for you that day that made me fall for you. You tried to hide your feelings, but I saw the vulnerability there. It was that moment that I knew you were just as scared to let people in as I was. _

_Rodric, I want you to know that I would trust you with Adam every day. You would make such a wonderful father to him. Maybe… Maybe if this is all a figment of my imagination we could give this a try. Love might scare me, but I'll be brave if you're willing to be brave with me. _

_This better be my paranoia kicking in. I want to go on more picnics with you. Seeing how you are with Adam gives me so much hope for the future. The kind of hope that I've never dared to have before. I know that it may be too soon for you to consider having any sort of serious relationship with me, and I am okay with that. The bottom line is that I care for you so much._

_If something does happen to me, I just want you to promise to look after Adam. I now you can teach him how to be a good man. You might not think so, but I do. The monster mask you put on is just that, a mask, and I see right through it. There is an amazing man under that rough surface. You should let him out more often. I just hope I'm there to watch when other people get to see what I see._

_I hope I'll be around to see a lot of things. Mostly though, I just want to see you again and tell you that I have hope for a someday. I heard somewhere that someday never comes, but I choose to ignore that for now. You give me hope for a someday._

_So until then, I'll be around. I refuse to say goodbye to you. I pray I never have to._

_Belle_

Rodric took a deep shuddering breath and rubbed his face before he looked to his bed and saw the sleeping form of the beautiful woman that wrote this letter. Even before the first kiss they shared, she wanted to be with him. Thinking about how close he almost came to losing her forever made his heart clench. He was glad he waited to read it though. Reading it then would have been too much to take. The Monster of Storybrooke put the letter on the nightstand and got back into bed with the woman that loved him regardless of what other's said about him.

"I love you, Belle." Rodric whispered softly in her ear.

Belle's eyes were still closed, but she pressed closer to him and she smiled softly. "I love you too, Rodric." She whispered back. "Sleep tight."

Rodric kissed the back of Belle's neck and closed his eyes. She was his and he was hers. For now nothing else mattered. He let out a contented sigh and fell into a gentle sleep.

**Fin!**

* * *

**That's all folks! For now! Dun Dun Dun! The sequel will be forth coming. Please let me know if you would like to be notified when it is posted. Look for me in this fandom and others! It's been a wild ride folks! Thank you for making my first FanFic a success! I love you all!**


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